Carl Icahn Net Worth

Net Worth: $5 Billion

Category: Richest Business › Richest Billionaires

Birthdate: February 16, 1936 (88 years old)

Birthplace: Queens, New York, USA

Gender: Male

Profession: Businessperson, Financier, Investor

Nationality: United States of America

What is Carl Icahn’s Net Worth? Carl Icahn is an American businessman, investor, and activist shareholder with a net worth of $5 billion. He is best known as the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a holding company based in New York City. Icahn’s investment strategy involves buying significant stakes in companies and pressuring them to make changes that benefit shareholders. He gained notoriety in the 1980s for his hostile takeover of Trans World Airlines (TWA), earning the label of a “corporate raider.”

Wealth Drop

Recent Decline: The majority of Carl Icahn’s wealth comes from his 86% stake in Icahn Enterprises. As of February 2023, his net worth was approximately $25 billion when the company’s stock was trading at over $50 per share. However, following a short-seller’s attack in May 2023, the stock price plummeted to $20, causing his net worth to drop to $5 billion.

Early Life and Education

Background: Carl Icahn was born on February 16, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York City, to Bella, a schoolteacher, and Michael, a cantor and later substitute teacher. Raised in Queens, he attended Far Rockaway High School. Icahn graduated from Princeton University with a degree in philosophy in 1957 and later attended New York University’s School of Medicine but dropped out after two years to join the military reserve.

Career Beginnings in Business

Initial Ventures: Icahn started his career in business in 1961 as a stockbroker for Dreyfus Corporation. He later worked as an options manager for Tessel, Patrick & Co., and Gruntal & Co. In 1968, Icahn used his savings and an investment from his uncle to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, forming Icahn & Co., which focused on options trading and risk arbitrage.

First Major Takeover: In 1978, Icahn took a controlling stake in Tappan, an appliance company, and forced its sale to Electrolux, doubling his investment. The following year, he bought Bayswater Realty & Capital Corporation and later acquired AFC Industries, making a $50 million profit from selling shares to Phillips Petroleum in 1985.

Trans World Airlines Controversy

Corporate Raider Label: In the mid-1980s, Icahn bought 50% of TWA and later acquired the company through a leveraged buyout. He sold TWA’s assets to repay his own debts, leading to accusations of asset stripping. Icahn sold TWA’s London routes to American Airlines for $445 million, while TWA incurred $540 million in debt.

Further Business Career

Notable Investments:

Attempted a hostile takeover of U.S. Steel in 1986, earning a $200 million profit by 1991.
Sold his stake in Texaco for a substantial profit in 1989.
Controlled Marvel Comics in the late 1990s.
Invested in Time Warner, Blockbuster Video, Take-Two Interactive, Yahoo!, Netflix, and Lyft, among others.

Hedge Fund: In 2004, Icahn raised $3 billion to form his hedge fund, Icahn Partners.

Political Career

Trump Administration: In the 2016 presidential election, Icahn endorsed Donald Trump and created a super-PAC for tax inversions on corporations. He served as Special Advisor to the President on Regulatory Reform in 2017 but resigned in August of that year. In 2018, he avoided losses by selling steel-price sensitive stocks before a tariff announcement.

Philanthropy

Charitable Contributions:

Significant donations to Mount Sinai Hospital and Princeton University.
Founded the Children’s Rescue Fund, building a 65-unit complex for homeless women and children.
Icahn Stadium, Carl C. Icahn Center for Science, and Icahn Scholar Program at Choate Rosemary Hall bear his name.

Personal Life

Family: In 1979, Icahn married Czech ballerina Liba Trejbal, with whom he had two children, Brett and Michelle. They divorced in 1999. Icahn later married his longtime assistant Gail Golden, gaining two stepchildren.

Interests: Icahn is an avid fan of thoroughbred horse racing, founding Foxfield Thoroughbreds in 1985. His horse Meadow Star won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1990. He closed Foxfield in 2004, selling all weanlings and mares.