Carl Icahn Biography, Net Worth, Wife and Family, Is He Really Jewish?

American society was built on the back of economic principles that foster intellectual and creative growth. These principles have helped the country to become the first capitalist nation in the world, creating several hundred billionaires and millionaires. The country can boast of revolutionary innovations from technology to agriculture to education and one man who has been enriched by these innovations and ideas is Carl Icahn.

Carl Icahn has built a wealth large enough to become one of the richest men in the world through his investments in several companies. Male, popularly known in American monetary circles as a “corporate thief,” the Jewish billionaire is the founder of Icahn Enterprises. Check out Carl Icahn and his life below.

Biography of Carl Icahn

Today, the perception of billionaires by the majority around the world is that they took an early departure from their parents who were wealthy enough to give them a platform to build and earn their billions. If this is true for a significant number of billionaires, it is not the case of Carl Icahn, born of two professors. His father was also a cantor.

He was born to two Jewish parents on February 16, 1936 in New York City and grew up in Queens where he attended Far Rockaway High School. As a boy, Carl Icahn was an academically intelligent kid and this was reflected in his academic history. After graduating from high school, he attended one of the best schools in the country, Princeton University, where he studied and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

After graduating from Princeton in 1957, he went to medical school at New York University to try to become a doctor. However, after two years, he had to drop out to join the army reserves. His stint in the Army Reserve barely lasted five years and he started a career as a stockbroker afterwards.

Icahn began his career as a stockbroker in 1961, marking the beginning of the path that would make him one of the richest men in the world. After seven years as a stockbroker, he started on his own, founding his own stock company named Icahn & Co. Due to the many aspects of stock trading, Icahn focused his business on l risk arbitrage and options trading.

Ten years after starting his own farm, Carl Icahn has taken another big step on the road to becoming a billionaire. He began to invest in several companies, positioning himself as the majority owner of these companies. Its biggest and most significant move in this regard was its acquisition of Trans World Airlines. Through the acquisition and his eventual decision to divest the airline’s assets, Icahn earned a reputation as a corporate thief.

However, while that move may have been morally questionable, especially in terms of its impact on airline workers, he made $469 million from the business decision. He also made $445 million by selling the company’s London routes to American Airlines.

Over the years, the mogul has brokered several business deals, such as acquiring video game company Take-Two Interactive. He also has investments in a few pharmaceutical and medical companies, Telik and Biogen and a few real estate properties as part of his investment portfolios such as Aquarius Casino Resort, Stratosphere and a few others. In technology, Carl Icahn has business interests in companies like Motorola, Netflix, Lyft and Apple.

His wealth has made him a valued figure in American society and as such has placed him in a number of positions, including most recently as Special Advisor on Regulatory Reform to President Donald Trump in 2017.

Net value

Forbes magazine, the world’s leading magazine for wealth estimation in its September 2018 analysis, estimated Carl Icahn to be worth $22.5 billion. Using his wealth, he made several donations to several institutions that resulted in a few buildings bearing his name, such as the Icahn Stadium at Randall’s Island and the Carl C. Icahn Laboratory at Princeton University.

He intends to donate more than half of his net worth upon his death as part of his commitment to the Giving Pledge.

Family life – wife, children

Carl Icahn began his married life with LibaTrejbal in 1979. The couple had been married for a long time but ended their marriage in a bitter divorce which saw both parties end up in court in a fight that was ultimately not settled. only amicably. Before the tumultuous end of the marriage, he produced two children, Brett Icahn and Michelle Celia Icahn Nevin.

Is Carl Icahn really Jewish?

Although his father was an atheist, he was a cantor and therefore raised Carl in the Jewish religion. He has continued to identify with the religion (Judaism) to this day.