Financier Carl Icahn: From Corporate Raider to Trump Advisor
The financial world, especially the stock market, is cruel and merciless. In an interview, the world's greatest billionaire, Carl Icahn, once said that there are no friends on Wall Street, only enemies, and that if you want a friend, buy a dog.
The words of a trader and investor with over 55 years of experience in this field fully reveal the ins and outs of his stock market career.
After all, behind a nice suit and a neat appearance lies the dirtiest struggle for money, and the higher your goal, the more you will have to get your hands dirty.
One of the toughest players, who is also nicknamed the executioner of companies, is Carl Icahn.
In fact, this ruthless raider is now a direct advisor to current US President Donald Trump, and his biography is an excellent example of all the cruelty of the stock market world.
Carl Icahn was born in 1936 in Brooklyn. The future financier's family was middle-class: his mother was an ordinary public school teacher, and his father dreamed of an opera career, but ultimately became a mere singer.
It is worth noting that Karl's uncle, who was a very rich and influential man in the financial world, left a huge mark on his life.
First money. Study
While still in school, Karl worked part-time at a local beach club, serving the wealthy and influential. He often saw the rich playing poker for large sums of money, and naturally became fascinated with the game himself.
One day, while watching the players, he began to realize that he could easily beat them, which is exactly what he did, earning his first thousand dollars.
The first thousand earned by Karl was not wasted, but became the basis for obtaining higher education.
Thus, with the money he earned, he was able to pay for his studies at Pristan University, where he actually entered the Faculty of Philosophy and successfully received a bachelor's degree.
After receiving a bachelor's degree in philosophy, his mother persuaded him to enroll in medical school at New York University, but after only two years of study, Icahn dropped out and joined the army.
Trader career
After returning from the army, his influential uncle Schnell was able to get Icahn a job at Dreyfus and Company as a broker, where his main task was simply to clear clients' trades.
After winning another four thousand dollars in poker, he successfully invests money in stocks and earns his first 30 thousand dollars on the stock exchange.
The next step in his career was a position at Tessel Patrick and Company, where he traded options, and then at Gruntal, where he and his partner created an options department and made money by hedging.
Owning Your Own Business: The First Steps in Corporate Raiding
Carl Icahn didn't plan to work for an employer for long and clearly envisioned himself starting his own business. However, he didn't have the $400,000 to buy a spot on the stock exchange, so he once again turned to his uncle for help.
Schnell saw Carl's acumen and quickly provided money for a stake in the business, resulting in the founding of Icahn & Company.
Carl Icahn's operating principle was harsh and ruthless. With investor support and vast lending resources, Icahn would acquire a blocking stake in a company of his choosing and begin extorting shareholders.
Almost all shareholder decisions were blocked, and Icahn played such a tough game to the detriment of the company that almost all shareholders could not stand it and bought back his shares at exorbitant prices, just to get rid of him.
Companies such as Trans World Airlines, Viacom, General Motors, Motorola, Yahoo, and Herbalife fell under Icahn's steamroller.
Also, in an interview, Carl Icahn specifically said that Apple shares were undervalued and that he was buying up shares en masse, after which, during one trading session, their price soared by more than four percent.
Carl Icahn has now been appointed Trump's advisor on business deregulation, owing to his extensive experience in this area. The eighty-year-old billionaire's net worth is estimated at over $20 billion.
