Carl Celian Icahn (/ˈaɪkɑːn/; born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and controlling shareholder ofIcahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerateholding company based inSunny Isles Beach, Florida. Icahn's business model is to take large stakes in companies that he believes will appreciate from changes to corporate policy; Icahn then pressures management to make the changes that he believes will benefit shareholders, and him. Widely regarded as one of the most successful hedge fund managers of all time and one of the greatest investors onWall Street, he was one of the firstactivist shareholders and is credited with making thatinvestment strategy mainstream forhedge funds.[1]
In 1968, with $150,000 of his own money and a $400,000 investment from his uncle, M. Elliot Schnall, Icahn bought a seat on theNew York Stock Exchange[10] and formed Icahn & Co., which focused onrisk arbitrage andoptions trading.[17]
In 1978, in his first takeover attempt, he took a controlling stake inTappan and forced the sale of the company toElectrolux, making a profit of $2.7 million, or doubling his investment. In 1979, he acquired Bayswater Realty & Capital Corporation. In 1983, he acquired ACF Industries and in 1985 he sold those shares toPhillips Petroleum, making a $50 million profit.[9][failed verification]
In 1985, by pooling his funds with investor funds and funds borrowed from banks, Icahn acquired 50% ofTrans World Airlines, and he completely acquired the company in aleveraged buyout in 1988.[2] Icahn systematically sold TWA's assets to repay money he owed, which was described as "asset stripping" and made him known as a "corporate raider". In 1991, he sold TWA's London routes toAmerican Airlines for $445 million.[3] Icahn made a $469 million profit, and left TWA with $540 million in debt. He formed lowestfare.com to sell TWA tickets and acquired portions of Global Leisure Travel from Ramy El-Batrawi.[18]
In October 1986, Icahn launched an unsuccessful $8 billion hostile takeover for 89% ofU.S. Steel; the bid was dropped in January 1987.[19][20] In 1991, he sold his stake in the company for $1 billion, making a $200 million profit.[21]
In June 1989, in the largest share sale to date on theNew York Stock Exchange, Icahn sold his stake inTexaco for $2 billion, making a profit of $700 million.[22]
In 1990, he offered to acquirePan Am for $375 million.[23]
In March 1998, he again bid forPan Am, offering $43 million.[28]
In December 1998, Icahn led an investor group that acquired a 5% stake inRJR Nabisco and pressured the company's management to separate its tobacco and food units.[29]
In July 2001, Icahn's Riverdale, LLC lent Genesisintermedia $100 million and received options to purchase 5.5 million shares of the company at an average price of $5.09.[30]
In 2004, afterMylan announced a $4 billion stock deal to acquireKing Pharmaceuticals, Icahn purchased a large block of stock and threatened aproxy fight, urging shareholders to vote against the acquisition.[32][33][34] In February 2005, Mylan gave up its efforts to acquire King.[35]
In 2005,XO Communications announced its intention to sell the wired part of its business for $700 million to Icahn, who was then chairman and a large shareholder; the money would be used to pay back its debts and to buy back its preferred stock for about $600 million from Icahn. Icahn would have then owned the wired business outright, and still own his 60% stake in XO.[36] Despite Icahn's majority ownership and the board of directors declaring the deal to be in the best interest of shareholders, R2 and other minority shareholders blocked the transaction through the court system in 2008, which charged Icahn with penalties due to hisconflict of interest.[37]
In August 2006, Icahn bought stock inTake-Two Interactive, a video game publisher, and increased his holdings to 11.3% in 2009, becoming the company's second-largest shareholder.[38]
In January 2007, he purchased a 9.2% stake inTelik, a biotech company engaged in cancer research. He also acquired 6.1 million shares of WCI Communities, later acquired byLennar.
In May 2007, Icahn lost an election for a seat on the board of directors ofMotorola, despite owning 3% of the company.[39]
On February 9, 2007,Lear Corporation's board of directors accepted a $2.3 billion takeover offer from Icahn.[40][41]
That month he also invested $50 million in Motricity, a North Carolina–based provider of mobile content delivery technology.
In September 2007, Icahn increased his stake inBEA Systems to 13.22%,[42] a few months beforeOracle Corporation announced its acquisition of BEA Systems, which Icahn supported.[43]
Beginning in 2007, Icahn gradually increased his stake inBiogen.[44][45]
In March 2008, Icahn sued Motorola as part of his effort to gain four seats on Motorola's board and force a sale of its mobile business.[47]
In May 2008, Icahn purchased a large block of shares inYahoo!, and shortly thereafter threatened to start a proxy fight to remove Yahoo's board of directors in response to their rejection of a takeover bid byMicrosoft.[48] Instead, he forced an agreement to expand Yahoo's board to eleven members, including Icahn and two others of his choice.[49]
In June 2008, Icahn launched a blog,The Icahn Report.[50]
In December 2008, he filed suit againstRealogy over a proposed debt swap.[52]
In April 2009, Icahn engaged in a proxy battle for Amylin.[53]
In September 2009, he offered to buy the shares of XO he did not already own for $0.55 each. He later raised his offer to $0.80, which ultimately expired.
In October, he resigned from the board of directors at Yahoo!,[54] and by the following February had reduced his equity stake from a one-time high of 75 million shares to 12 million shares.[55]
In February 2010, Icahn, through a subsidiary of his Icahn Enterprises LP, acquired theFontainebleau Las Vegas for about $150 million. In March he was one of a group of lenders who purchasedTropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City, bringing the company out of bankruptcy for $200 million.
In May 2010, Icahn held a 6.9% stake inMentor Graphics,[58] increasing to 14% in July. Mentor's retaliation with ashareholder rights plan failed to deter Icahn who, in February 2011, made an unsuccessful offer to buy the company for about $1.86 billion in cash.[59]
In January 2011, Icahn offered to buy Clorox for $10.2 billion.[60] By February he had accumulated a 9.08% stake in the company.[61]
In October 2012, Icahn reported a 10% stake inNetflix.[62][63]
In November 2012, he tried to gain control of the board of directors ofOshkosh Corporation.[64]
In February 2013, Forbes listed Icahn as one of the 40 highest-earning hedge fund managers.[65]
By April 2013, Icahn accumulated a 9.2% stake inNuance Communications.[66] On August 2, 2013, Icahn sued computer giantDell and its board in an attempt to derail a $24.4 billion buyout bid by the CEO,Michael Dell, in favor of his own rumored forthcoming bid.[67] In October 2013, Icahn held 4.7 million shares ofApple Inc.[68][69][70] The same month, Icahn acquired around 61 million shares inTalisman Energy, leading to a surge in the share price.[71] Also that month, he sold about 50% of his shares in Netflix for a profit in excess of $800 million in less than one year.
In November 2013, he acquired a 12.5% interest inHologic, a medical device and diagnostics manufacturer.
In January 2014, Icahn invested another half billion dollars inApple Inc.[72]
Also in January 2014, Icahn pushedeBay to complete thecorporate spin-off ofPayPal. This started a proxy fight which was settled by April.[73]
In October 2014, Icahn invested inTalisman Energy. The company's stock price went down by 71% and he sold his shares two months later.[74]
On May 15, 2015, Icahn made a $100 million investment inLyft.[75]
In November 2015, Icahn hiredCBRE Group to market the unfinishedFontainebleau Las Vegas to potential buyers.[76] Also in November 2015, he swapped his stake in eBay for shares inPayPal.[77] Also in November 2015, Icahn disclosed a 7.13% stake inXerox.[78]
In December 2015, Icahn offered to acquirePep Boys.[79] He also raised his stake inCheniere Energy to 13.8%, making him its largest shareholder.[80]
In January 2016, Icahn disclosed a 4.66% stake inGannett Company[82] and also held shares in Cheniere Energy and Freeport-McMoRan, both of which declined in value.[74] Icahn sold his Apple shares in April 2016, citing concerns about Apple's relationship with China.[83]
Also in October 2016, Icahn closed theTrump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, citing a $350 million loss over several years as well as failure to reach a deal with striking union workers. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs.[85][86]
In November 2016, he increased his holdings in the car rental companyThe Hertz Corporation, after the company's stock price had declined significantly.[87]
In May 2020, Icahn sold his entire 39% stake, or 55.3 million shares, of Hertz Global for 72 cents a share. He lost almost $2 billion on the investment.[89]
In February 2022 Icahn, who held 200 shares of the company, nominated two people for election to McDonald's board of directors in what may be the first step toward a proxy fight.[90] Icahn aims to pressure McDonald's to improve conditions of pigs raised by its suppliers.[91]
However, in May 2022, only 1% of McDonald's' shareholders voted in favor of nominees put forward by Icahn, scoring a victory against his demands for the improvement of conditions in which pigs are raised. In its statement, McDonald's claimed it is already moving towards a more humane approach to the issue since its pledge in 2012, adding that Icahn's demands were unreasonable.[92]
In May 2023, short sellerHindenburg Research released an analysis of Icahn's public companyIcahn Enterprises that claims the company is over-valued due to paying large dividends using investments from new investors. In addition, the analysis claims that Icahn took out loans against a majority of his holdings and that these have the potential to be called should the stock price move downward. On the day of the release of this analysis, the share price of Icahn Enterprises dropped by 20%.[93]
Icahn endorsedDonald Trump in the2016 United States presidential election. He also announced the formation of a super PAC pledging $150 million to push for corporate tax reform, in particular oftax inversions, which occur when corporations move their headquarters from the U.S. to take advantage of lower tax rates elsewhere.[94]
On December 21, 2016, it was announced that Icahn would serve as special advisor to the president on regulatory reform under PresidentDonald Trump and that Icahn would aid Trump in an "individual capacity" rather than as a federal employee, and that he would not have "specific duties" and therefore would not have to relinquish his business interests while serving as an advisor to Trump.[98] Icahn stepped down from this role on August 18, 2017, citing a desire not to interfere with the work ofNeomi Rao as administrator of theOffice of Information and Regulatory Affairs.[99][100][101][102][11]
In February 2018, Icahn avoided a $6 million loss by selling some of his holdings in a steel-price sensitive stock just days before the Trump administration announced a 25% tariff on steel imports.[103]
When the President had Icahn interviewScott Pruitt during consideration of his nomination asAdministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Icahn specifically asked Pruitt about his position on the EPA'sRenewable Fuel Standard.[104] Icahn spoke directly to President Trump and toGary Cohn about his proposed changes to the ethanol rule.[104] CVR Energy, in which Icahn has 82% ownership, would save $205.9 million a year if Icahn's proposal was adopted.[104] TheSugar Land, Texas oil refinery benefited when President Trump made an exception to his regulation freeze to expand the tax advantage ofmaster limited partnerships.[104] CVR Energy's stock doubled after President Trump's election, increasing $455 million in value.[104]
In the summer of 1978, Icahn, then 41 years old, met Liba Trejbal, a 28-year-old ballerina from the formerCzechoslovakia. She became pregnant 8 months later and Icahn offered to marry her if she signed aprenuptial agreement. They were married in March 1979. In October 1993, Liba filed for divorce and sued to invalidate theprenuptial agreement, claiming she signed it under duress due to the pregnancy. The divorce was settled in July 1999.[105][106][107][108][109] They have two children,Brett Icahn and Michelle Celia Icahn Nevin.[106] His nephew isRick Schnall.[110]
In 1999, Icahn married his longtime assistant and former broker, Gail Golden.[108] She has two children from a previous marriage.[106] The couple separated in 2025.[111]
Icahn Stadium onRandall's Island in New York City is named after him, as is the Carl C. Icahn Center for Science and Icahn Scholar Program atChoate Rosemary Hall, a prep school in Connecticut. This organization pays for tuition, room and board, books, and supplies for 10 students every year for four years (freshman–senior), an endowment valued at about $400,000 per annum.
Icahn made a substantial contribution to his alma mater,Princeton University, to fund agenomics laboratory which bears his name, the Carl C. Icahn Laboratory at the university's Institute for Integrated Genomics.[112] He also made large contributions toMount Sinai Hospital, New York, of which he is a trustee, which in return named a building the Icahn Medical Institute designed byDavis Brody Bond, and also, in 2013, renamed the Mount Sinai School of Medicine as theIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.[113] The genomics institute led by Brian Brown, PhD, was renamed theIcahn Genomics Institute.[114]
His foundation, theChildren's Rescue Fund, built Icahn House inThe Bronx, a 65-unit complex for homeless families consisting of single pregnant women and single women with children, and operates Icahn House East and Icahn House West, both of which are homeless shelters in New York City.
Oliver Stone used Icahn as the basis for the hostile, cutthroat capitalist character ofGordon Gekko, portrayed byMichael Douglas in his hit filmWall Street (1987). One of Icahn's shareholder meeting speeches provided the basis for Gekko's iconic "greed is good" speech.[117]
In 1985, Icahn established Foxfield Thoroughbreds, ahorse breeding operation. At that year's Newstead Farm Trust sale run byFasig-Tipton, he paid $4 million for Larida, a six-year-old mare and a record $7 million for the four-year-old bay mare Miss Oceana who was in foal to champion sire,Northern Dancer.[119]
