CARL Icahn, the Wall Street trailblazer dubbed the 'real Gordon Gekko,' has amassed nearly $20billion in his life.
Icahn, one of the wealthiest men in the US, says he capitalized off of broken systems in a new HBO documentary, Icahn: The Restless Billionaire, airing tonight at 9pm.
Icahn, the founder of Icahn Enterprises, compares himself to Alexander the Great in the new documentary, saying: “To everybody in the world, he was the best and the greatest."
“The army all worshiped him, but a lot of them deserted him because they thought he was crazy. He just kept going and going until they killed him, and I think about that. I’m a little bit like that.”
Icahn is an activist investor, and one of the most feared men on Wall Street.
During his career, he has taken undervalued stocks, targeted firms, and called for change within some of the biggest companies on the planet, earning him a reputation— and a lot of money along the way.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Icahn, who turns 86 on February 16, grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens.
His mother was a teacher and his father was a cantor at a synagogue.
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Icahn, an only child, was pushed to go to medical school by his mother, according to Forbes. But that wasn't the path he'd wind up taking.
His teachers told him he wouldn't be accepted to Ivy League schools. But Icahn took the boards and had his pick of schools, ultimately choosing Princeton.
POKER PAID FOR PRINCETON
Icahn attended Princeton, graduating in 1957 with a degree in philosophy.
His father paid for his tuition, which was $750 at the time. But Icahn didn't have money for room and board.
To make ends meet, Icahn worked as a beach boy in the Rockaways, near where he grew up.
The beach boy gig led him to joining a regular poker game, which is how he ultimately paid his way through Princeton.
In Tony Robbins' book, Money: Master The Game, Icahn says: "At first I didn't even know how to play, and they cleaned me out."
"So I read three books on poker in two weeks, and after that I was 10 times better than any of them.
"To me, it was a big game, big stakes. Every summer I won about $2,000, which was like $50,000 back in the '50s."
'INTIMIDATING AND RELENTLESS'
Throughout his career and ascent to the top, Icahn has often been called a bully for how he handles his interactions with boards and companies.
The trailer for the documentary is no exception, with Icahn referred to as "intimidating and relentless."
Icahn has been known for taking small stakes in companies that are undervalued before issuing ultimatums and pushing for change in management or boardrooms.
He's done this with companies including Netflix, Marvel, Apple, and Dell Technologies, to name a few.
Icahn's approach has vastly been the same throughout his life, his wife, Gail Golden-Icahn, says in the documentary.
But he isn't driven by money.
“You’d think it would be money,” she says.
“He just becomes obsessed on something and keeps like a bulldog—and he just keeps going and going until he gets what he wants.”
"I made this money because the system is so bad," Icahn says in the trailer.
"Not because I'm a genius."
LIFE AS A BILLIONAIRE
Since amassing his fortune, Icahn has traveled and even relocated his business.
In 2019, he moved Icahn Enterprises headquarters to Florida in late 2019, just before the Covid pandemic hit.
He then put his 14,000 square foot penthouse in New York City up for sale for $30million in early 2021.
The billionaire and his family now occupy a mansion in Indian Creek, Florida, close to newly-retired Tom Brady.
Icahn, a med school dropout himself, has donated about $200million to what has now been named the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He has also developed charter schools in the Bronx, established The Children’s Rescue Fund organization, and much more in the way of philanthropy.
"One thing you have to remember," Icahn says in the trailer.
"It doesn't stay forever if you're not careful."
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