Carl Icahn Quotes

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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'm a cynic about corporate democracy and boards.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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