Explore Quotes by Carl Icahn

My wife watches me like a hawk.

Don't go in and tell somebody else how to run their business.

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 a pretty tough time.

I like winning. There's also a certain joy in it. I feel fulfilled by it.

When you have no one to answer to, vendetta as investment strategy is as legitimate as anything.

I have to look out for the shareholder’s interests, and I’m the largest shareholder.

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.

A lot of people died fighting tyranny. The least I can do is vote against it.

Some people get rich studying artificial intelligence. Me, I make money studying natural stupidity.

When most investors, including the pros, all agree on something, they're usually wrong.

Anyone that makes me a quarter of a billion dollars, I like.

I can tell you how bad our boards are... I don't have to watch Saturday Night Live anymore; I just go to the board meetings.

Im a cynic about corporate democracy and boards.

CEOs are paid for doing a terrible job. If the system wasn't so messed up, guys like me wouldn't make this kind of money.

We're not about liquidating companies, but if you do that, why is that terrible? We're not blowing up the factories. The person who buys it should be able to make the asset more productive.

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

We have bloated bureaucracies in Corporate America. The root of the problem is the absence of real corporate democracy.

Too often it's not the most creative guys or the smartest. Instead, it's the ones who are best at playing politics and soft-soaping their bosses. Boards don't like tough, abrasive guys.

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.

You learn in this business.. If you want a friend, get a dog.

I enjoy the hunt much more than the “good life” after the victory.