Carl Icahn Quotes
Carl Icahn Quotes
We have bloated bureaucracies in Corporate America. The root of the problem is the absence of real corporate democracy.
I enjoy the hunt much more than the ‘good life’ after the victory.
I look at companies as businesses, while Wall Street analysts look for quarterly earnings performance. I buy assets and potential productivity. Wall Street buys earnings, so they miss a lot of things that I see in certain situations.
The game for me is – just a game.
In 2008, people who invested in hedge funds needed capital badly, but many of the funds would not return their money. However, I gave money back to any investor who requested it. It was the bottom of the market and pretty tough time.
I’m no Robin Hood. I enjoy making money.
In life and business, there are two cardinal sins, the first is to act precipitously without thought, and the second is to not act at all. Unfortunately, the board of directors and top management of Times Warner already committed the first sin by merging with AOL, and we believe they are currently in the process of committing the second; now is not a time to move slowly and suffer the paralysis of inaction.
I was always a good chess player.
In risk there is reward…
I sit on a lot of boards…I don’t have to watch Saturday Night Live anymore, I just sit at the board meetings. I will tell you it’s a sad commentary that we have an inability to compete. You can blame unions to some extent. But the real problem is that boards – there’s a symbiotic relationship between boards and CEOs today. And as a result, there is no way to hold these guys accountable except when someone like myself comes along or some other person who is really well to challenge them. But you have to go through contortions. There is no corporate democracy.
The cardinal rule is to have enough capital at the end of the day.
I’m a cynic about corporate democracy and boards.
When you have no one to answer to, vendetta as an investment strategy is as legitimate as anything.
How can one airline pay one guy $120,000 a year when the guy at the other airline is flying the same plane for $30,000 or $40,000? It makes no sense. The company will go bankrupt. You’ll get another two years out of it, and they’ll go bust, and what good does that do you? Like the steel industry. The union did such a great job that they lost their jobs. They lost the industry! If the unions do too good a job, it’s no good.
You learn in this business: It you want a friend, get a dog.
If we are psychoanalyzing each other, why don’t you admit what you really care about is your job, and you are afraid I am going to take it away from you.
Also Read :
Carl Icahn Quotes about Life
In life and business, there are two cardinal sins. The first is to act precipitously without thought and the second is to not act at all.
I enjoy the hunt much more than the ‘good life’ after the victory.
In life and business, there are two cardinal sins, the first is to act precipitously without thought, and the second is to not act at all. Unfortunately, the board of directors and top management of Times Warner already committed the first sin by merging with AOL, and we believe they are currently in the process of committing the second; now is not a time to move slowly and suffer the paralysis of inaction.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Robin Hood
I’m no robin hood, I enjoy making the money.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Believe
I believe there are and will be major opportunities to enhance Time Warner’s value in future combinations.
In life and business, there are two cardinal sins, the first is to act precipitously without thought, and the second is to not act at all. Unfortunately, the board of directors and top management of Times Warner already committed the first sin by merging with AOL, and we believe they are currently in the process of committing the second; now is not a time to move slowly and suffer the paralysis of inaction.
Reuters was completely accurate that I am concerned about the level of the market. But I also made it clear on the conference call (and I believe as Reuters reported it), that it is almost impossible to predict what a market will do in the short term. There are too many variables.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Running
Don’t go in and tell somebody else how to run their business.
With some exceptions, the wrong people are running U.S. companies. It’s been that way for years, and it hasn’t gotten much better.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Business
You learn in this business. If you want a friend, get a dog.
Don’t go in and tell somebody else how to run their business.
In life and business, there are two cardinal sins. The first is to act precipitously without thought and the second is to not act at all.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Takeovers
My opinion is that, philosophically, I’m doing the right thing in trying to shake up some of these managements. It’s a problem in America today that we are not nearly as productive as we should be. That’s why we have the balance-of-payments problems. It’s like the fall of Rome, when half the population was on the dole.
Literally, half the board is dozing off. The other half is reading the Wall Street Journal. And then they put slides up a lot and nobody can understand the slides and when it gets dark they all doze off. The chief executive officer at that time was a very intimidating sort of guy. A big, tall guy, strong personality, and he was in control of that board. I mean nobody could say anything. I was the only one who owned any stock so I had an interest. I wanted to know what the hell was going on.
In takeovers, the metaphor is war. The secret is reserves. You must have reserves stretched way out ahead. You have to know that you could buy the company and not be stretched.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Money
Some people get rich studying artificial intelligence. Me, I make money studying natural stupidity.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Opinion
When friends and acquaintances are telling you that you are a genius, before you accept their opinion, take a moment to remember what you always thought of their opinions in the past.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Ethics
He’s number two to the CEO. Sooner or later the CEO retires. The CEO puts him there because the CEO realizes this guy’s not a challenge because he’s a little dumber than the CEO. So now he becomes the CEO and now he finds his number two guy a little dumber than him. Sooner or later we’re going to be run by morons. By definition… And we are not far from that now.
I’m happy stockholders benefited. But I’m no Robin Hood. I enjoy making the money.
A likeable guy, maybe even a buffoon… Also a good political guy… He doesn’t make waves… he moves up the corporate ladder… doesn’t have many ideas… but this doesn’t help our corporations very much. Doesn’t help us be competitive.
It sounds funny, but I was always ethical.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Investment
I have to look out for the shareholder’s interests, and I’m the largest shareholder.
I look at companies as businesses, while Wall Street analysts look for quarterly earnings performance. I buy assets and potential productivity. Wall Street buys earnings, so they miss a lot of things that I see in certain situations.
Carl Icahn Quotes about Investors
Investors need to understand what level of debate actually occurred. Sunlight must be shed on the board’s deliberations and a full account of the details of any studies conducted should be made immediately available to investors.
Famous Carl Icahn Quotes
My wife watches me like a hawk.
Anyone that makes me a quarter of a billion dollars, I like.
Don’t go in and tell somebody else how to run their business.
I like winning. There’s also a certain joy in it. I feel fulfilled by it.
Best Quotes by Carl Icahn
We’re both on a life raft right now. And it’s sinking. It doesn’t matter who got on first. We have to do something to save ourselves.
[In 2008 on current trends in American CEO’s] Sooner or later we’re going to be run by morons.
In the takeover business, if you want a friend, you buy a dog.
Ideas comes to you… not necessarily working and sitting at a desk…
Carl Icahn Quotes on Management
We want these assets to be productive. We buy them. We own them. To say we care only about the short term is wrong. What I care about is seeing these assets in the best hands
With some exceptions, the wrong people are running U.S. companies. It’s been that way for years, and it hasn’t gotten much better.
