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Carl Icahn net worth: Why did US investor's fortune plummet by billions?
The nearly 75% drop in Carl Icahn's net worth is the biggest drop of his long career.
Carl Icahn’s fortune recently plummeted from about $17.5 billion to roughly $4.8 billion after a battle with short-seller Hindenburg Research, according to Forbes. The nearly 75% drop is the biggest drop of his long career.
The decrease in Icahn’s net worth from 2023 to this year took place as Icahn’s net worth after Hindenburg accused his firm of inflated valuations and unsustainable dividends. The Icahn Capital Management founder has denied the allegations.
Icahn, an 89-year-old activist investor, was once believed to be Wall Street’s fiercest corporate raiders. In various recent interviews with The Wall Street Journal, he said he is still a fighter. He also bets on NFL games every week, and won about $80,000 through bets on the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, as reported by the New York Post.
Carl Icahn’s health challenges
Icahn has gone through surgeries recently, leaving his health fragile. However, he has reportedly stabilized.
In recent years, Icahn has had an operation on his ankle that left him unable to walk comfortably for months. It also prompted him to give up daily tennis.
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Shortly after the operation, Icahn was treated for an enlarged spleen. Medication caused fatigue and shortness of breath, but he never missed a day of work, he said. “I keep going,” he recently told The Journal. “I enjoy the game.”
Icahn Enterprises has lost a large percentage of its market value
Icahn Enterprises has lost about 80% of its market value since Hindenburg Research’s short-selling attack in May 2023. The short-seller compared Icahn’s business model to a ‘Ponzi-like’ structure, but the investor dismissed the claims as lies. However, the fallout ended up erasing billions from his fortune. HIs company’s stock has been sent to its lowest level in decades.
Icahn’s own use of leverage made the decline worse. He reportedly pledged more than half his holdings in Icahn Enterprises as collateral for personal margin loans.
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The stock price soon collapsed, and lenders compelled Icahn to renegotiate to avoid a margin call. He, on his part, defended his accounting practices and denounced short sellers.
“They took part of my army away, like Alexander the Great,” Icahn told The Journal, on being asked about the fallout of the Hindenburg attack. “He has to change his battle plans, but it’s not that bad.”
The Journal reported that succession planning has grown uncertain inside Icahn Enterprises. Brett Icahn, the founder’s son, rejoined the firm in 2020 under a seven-year contract. However, recent bets have stumbled.
A major position in Bausch Health lost as much as $700 million. Some key lieutenants have departed, including Steven Miller, who left after clashing with Brett. Andrew Teno is now chief executive, and could be the operational successor.
Icahn lives and works in near isolation at his waterfront home on Miami’s Indian Creek Island, also called the Billionaire Bunker. He told The Journal that there has been a rebound in third-quarter earnings, which were among the company’s best ever. He also suggested that new investments in EchoStar and Monro, an auto-service chain, point towards fresh momentum.
Last quarter, Icahn Enterprises reported $287 million in net income. This was up sharply from a year prior to that.
Carl Icahn’s campaign against ‘cartel’ of BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street
Icahn has launched a campaign against what he has referred to as the “cartel” of BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. He believes that their dominance of index-fund voting power has neutered shareholder activism. Icahn is even urging Congress and President Donald Trump to restrict their influence.
Icahn has said that the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai remains his greatest investment. He endowed it with $200 million in 2012. Icahn notably also funds animal charities.
Icahn has admitted that he was too proud in the past. “It was hubris,” he told Puck News last year. “I thought I could figure out what the market was going to do. That’s the dumbest thing you can do.”
