How Well Do You Know

Activist Investor and Billionaire

Carl Icahn?

Who Is Carl Icahn?

Source: Yahoo! Investor Relations via the

Internet Archive.

Carl Icahn, 78,

is worth

$24.5 billion. Any

questions?

Often called a

"corporate raider"

or an "asset stripper,"

Icahn prefers titles like

"shareholder activist."

Semantics, Semantics

Image: Maribel Bylund.

Icahn was raised in

Far Rockaway,

Queens, New York,

by two school teachers.

Far Rockaway boardwalk, by Boris Miller via Panoramio.

From Queens to Wall Street

Hospital halls were not for Icahn.

Armed with a Princeton degree in Philosophy, Icahn dropped out of NYU's medical school in 1959.

Joined the army, then moved to

Wall Street.

Carl Icahn never looked back.

Mother Wanted a Doctor, But...

Icahn's Empire

Today, Icahn Enterprises manages a $14.8

billion investment portfolio.

"Fully wedded to the activist model."

Returns tend to leave even Warren Buffett's

Berkshire Hathaway behind:

Icahn Enterprises HQ

GM Building, 47th floor Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Icahn's Strategy, in His Own Words "A lot of people died fighting tyranny. The

least I can do is vote against it." "I am an ardent believer that if corporate

governance in this country does not change, our economy and markets face great problems."

"When mediocre managements are replaced or at least held accountable, companies become more productive and shareholder value is greatly enhanced."

"Some people get rich studying artificial intelligence. Me, I make money studying natural stupidity."

Carl Icahn and CNBC Anchor David Faber.

Source: Twitter/@Carl_C_Icahn

Icahn's Strategy, As Seen By His Peers "[Icahn is] the most competitive person I know. …

He's especially good at terrorizing people and wearing down their defenses." -- Wilbur Ross

"People like to get along with people. … Carl doesn’t have that gene quite as strongly as others." -- Warren Buffett

"More often than not, he’s right. They listen to Carl. Changes are made. Companies and corporate America improve. In the process, Carl has consistently done more for shareholders than any CEO. And, of course, Carl makes money." -- T. Boone Pickens

What Has He Done Lately? Here's just a handful of

Icahn's biggest battles

— win, lose, or draw.

Remember, this is just

the tip of the iceberg.

Carl Icahn is almost

always in the news.

Pyramid Scheme or "No-Brainer"?

Source: Herbalife

Icahn owns 16.5% of Herbalife – a stake worth $1.3 billion.

He feuded over the company with fellow activist

Bill Ackman, of Pershing Square fame.

Icahn is winning, and the investors are friends again.

The Big Boys Listen, Too

Using a $2.7 billion stake

to put pressure on Apple,

Icahn got what he wanted: huge share

buybacks.

(Icahn recently boosted his Apple investment to $4.4 billion. What’s next?)

But Icahn Doesn't Always Win Before Hunger Games and Twilight,

Lionsgate beat back a hostile

takeover

attempt by Icahn.

Icahn missed out on profits of

more than $1 billion.

To repel him, the company withheld

important financial information.

Lionsgate settled charges

of misconduct for $7.5 million.

Source: Lionsgate

The Site of Icahn's Most Stinging Defeat...

Image: Netflix

Icahn once owned 16.9% of Blockbuster Video

and sat on its board of directors.

The company fell to digital entertainment options,

led by Netflix.

It was "the worst investment I ever made," says Icahn.

...and His Biggest Victory… Just one year after exiting Blockbuster, Icahn

built a nearly 10% stake in Netflix.

Shares were cheap after the Qwikster debacle,

and Icahn wanted to shake Netflix up. The

company set up anti-activist shields, as Icahn

targets often do.

After meeting with management, Icahn changed

his tune. He became a Netflix supporter instead,

dropping his strategy makeover ideas and

buyout talk.

Source: Netflix

…To the Tune of $800 Million

Icahn sold over half of his Netflix shares

in 2013 to a firm managed by his son, Brett

Icahn. Carl netted over $800 million on the

deal.

Icahn Enterprises still owns 3.7% of Netflix.

Image: Netflix

Warren Buffett just

bought nearly 9 million

shares of this company