Carl Icahn Quotes

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

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 great company in the media business needs visionary leaders, not a conglomerate structure headquartered in Columbus Circle that second guesses.

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.

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

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

Now the guy that got to the top, the CEO, would obviously be stupid to have a number two guy who was a lot smarter than he is. So by definition, since he's a survivor and he got to the top and he isn't that brilliant, his number two guy is going to always be a little worse than he is. So, as time goes on, it's anti-Darwinism, the survival of the un- fittest.

Don't confuse luck with skill when judging others, and especially when judging yourself.

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

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

Everything I have is for sale, except for my kids and possibly my wife.

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.

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.

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

The CEO is, by far, the most important decision for a company... The company is going to rise and fall with the CEO.

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

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

When nobody wants something, that creates an opportunity.

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.

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

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.

And I'm convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you can work with the unions because the unions want to survive. If they are confronted simply with the question: "Do you want this company to survive or do you want it to be broken up?" they will listen. It's their livelihood.

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

My wife watches me like a hawk.

Had a nice conversation with Tim Cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly.

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.

I'm no robin hood, I enjoy making the 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.

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.

I believe there are and will be major opportunities to enhance Time Warner's value in future combinations.

Yellen’s comments suggest, and I agree, that we are in an asset bubble.

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

Im a cynic about corporate democracy and boards.