Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn is a legendary shareholder activist and one of Wall Street’s most influential investors. He is the Founder and Majority Shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified conglomerate with interests spanning energy, automotive, food packaging, real estate, and more. Known for his bold, and often controversial, activist strategies, Icahn has played a decisive role in reshaping corporate America through high-profile takeover battles involving companies such as Texaco, Trans World Airlines (TWA), and American Airlines. Beyond his investing career, Icahn has donated approximately $200 million to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and supports philanthropic initiatives in medicine, education, and child welfare.
Carl Icahn Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founder and Controlling Shareholder
Academic History
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B.A., Philosophy
CONTROVERSY
In 2024, Carl Icahn and Icahn Enterprises settled SEC charges for failing to disclose pledges of company securities as collateral for billions in personal loans.
The probe followed a 2023 report by short-seller Hindenburg Research, which triggered a steep decline in Icahn Enterprises’ share price.
As part of the settlement, Icahn Enterprises agreed to pay $1.5 million, while Icahn personally paid $500,000 in civil penalties.
INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Icahn rose to prominence in the 1980s as a high-profile corporate raider, most notably engineering the takeover of Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1985.
The airline eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1992, with its remaining assets sold to American Airlines in 2001.
In 2024, Icahn took a nearly 10% stake in JetBlue Airways, reinforcing his presence in the airline sector.
Today, Icahn and his affiliated companies hold investments across industries including real estate, telecommunications, transportation, industrial services, oil refining, and manufacturing.
PHILANTHROPY
In 2012, Mount Sinai School of Medicine was renamed the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in recognition of Icahn’s $200 million gift, alongside the creation of the Icahn Genomics Institute.
His philanthropy extends to education and child welfare through initiatives such as founding seven Icahn Charter Schools in the Bronx, funding the Carl C. Icahn Science Center and Choate Science Building, and establishing the Children’s Rescue Fund, which operates shelters in the Bronx and Manhattan.
He also financed Icahn House, a 65-unit facility supporting single pregnant women and single mothers with children.
MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS
Icahn has been extensively covered in leading business outlets, including Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters, CNBC, CNN, Yahoo! Finance, MarketWatch, and Fortune.
His investment strategies, activist campaigns, and corporate battles have made him one of the most quoted and closely watched figures in global finance.