“I have to look out for the shareholder’s interests, and I’m the largest shareholder.”
—Carl Icahn.
Special Advisor on Regulatory Reform
Jan. 20, 2017 – Aug. 18, 2017
The 30th richest person on the planet, Carl Icahn amassed his wealth as a notorious Wall Street ‘corporate raider’, initiating hostile takeovers of companies by acquiring majority stakes, stripping their assets, and liquidating them for a rapid turnover and maximum profit, often to the dismay of company leadership and its workforce.
Icahn joined the Swamp with one goal in mind – to further enrich himself at the expense of the environment and public health. Sure enough, Icahn promptly began attacking Renewable Fuel Standards, a George W. Bush era program created to promote renewable fuel use, and a program that incidentally costs Icahn’s refineries millions annually.
Following his appointment as a “special advisor”, an unpaid title that allowed Icahn to retain investment and oversight over his $20B business empire, while simultaneously forming legislation that could (and would) benefit his business operations to the tune of hundreds of millions dollars saved. The stock market value of his refineries doubled as investors saw the obvious profit potential in Icahn overseeing the regulatory reform of his own businesses.
Estimated net worth: $14,000,000,000
Notables
- The 2017 leak known as “the Paradise Papers” revealed that Icahn has at least $250,000,000 stashed in offshore tax-havens.
The wealthy men in Trump’s inner circle with links to tax havens | The Guardian (11.5.17)
- Multiple Icahn companies have been subjected to investigations by the Security and Exchange Commission since 2016, including investigations into his actions to affect legislation regulating his businesses.
Icahn Raises Ethics Flags With Dual Roles as Investor and Trump Adviser | New York Times (3.26.17)
- Carl Icahn closed the Trump Taj Mahal after failing to reach a deal with its union workers to reinstate their health care and pension benefits (benefits he had stripped from them in bankruptcy court) and putting almost 3,000 employees out of work.
Trump Taj Mahal closes after 26 years; 5th casino casualty | CNBC (10.10.16)
- Carl Icahn’s 2020 net worth was estimated to be $17,500,000,000, making him the 30th most wealthy person, as ranked by Forbes.
Forbes Ranking: Carl Icahn | Forbes (2.22.20)
- In 2019, Reuters reported that at least one of Carl Icahn’s refineries was given a special waiver from the same rule he’d attempted to eliminate during his tenure as special adviser to Trump. At public cost in pollution, billionaire and friend of the president will save tens of millions of dollars that otherwise were to be spent reducing air pollution.
EPA grants biofuels waiver to billionaire Icahn’s oil refinery | Reuters (4.30.18)
- Appeared to participate in insider trading, dumping a million shares ($31,300,000 worth) of stocks related to steel just days before the Trump administrations announcement that they would be imposing heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Icahn denies prior knowledge of steel tariffs | Associated Press (3.7.18)
