Carl Icahn

Deliver Results.





What I learned from Carl Icahn:

Deliver Results.

The man is notorious for his personal, shrill and often merciless attacks on management incompetence. People, particularly in the media, frequently focus on the messenger and the personality while hedge funds and institutional investors profit from the message.

Carl Icahn has delivered 40% plus annualized gains to shareholders of Icahn partners over the last three years compared to the S&P 500 return of 13% over the same period.

Ruthless and egotistical - without a doubt.

The man is a product of the greenmailing days so vividly depicted in the movie "Wall Street" and the wood paneled enclave he occupies on the 47th floor of the GM building in Manhattan speaks volumes to his taste for the extravagant - but then the forty sixth richest man in the world doesn't really need to skimp on furnishings.

Icahn seizes upon poorly performing assets that hide an inherent value beneath the inefficiencies. He identifies a target - then goes after it.

Then he gets rid of the poorly performing, the incompetent management and the waste. People, Parts, Procedures and Pretenders fall prey to his wrath as the proxy unfolds.

• It's Darwinian.

• It's Ruthless.

• It's Profitable.

And yet it uncovers and realizes the hidden value in many a business that has been mismanaged.

There are casualties and an argument can be made that it strips away the humanity with the inefficiencies - no argument here.

The message to companies though comes through loud and clear.

Deliver Results - Because Carl is always looking for undervalued opportunities.

Deliver Results.

That's what I learned from Carl Icahn.

Learn more about Carl Icahn:

Carl Icahn bio