by Chloe Jones

Created on: May 13, 2007   Last Updated: May 16, 2007

Carl Icahn was born on February 16, 1936 in Queens, New York. He received a degree from Princeton University. He attended New York University School of Medicine, but dropped out, reportedly because he disliked working with corpses. He has since earned billions with his stock picking talents.

Icahn established his reputation as a corporate raider with his 1985 hostile takeover of airline TWA. Among some of the other companies he raided are Texaco, Anchor Hocking and American Can.

Carl Icahn has received media attention as a major shareholder in Time Warner. He has used his stake of more than three percent of the multi-billion dollar company's stock to try to influence the company in ways that he thinks will increase shareholder value.

Icahn has invested heavily in one of the hottest industries today, casino gaming. His real estate holding company, American Real Estate Partners, sold the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Pinnacle Entertainment in November 2006 for nearly $275 million. It was announced in April 2007 that AREP would sell the Stratosphere Casino and hotel and an adjoining 17 acres of vacant land on the Las Vegas Strip, along with two other Las Vegas casinos and one in Laughlin, Nevada, to a unit of Goldman Sachs. The company expects a billion dollar gain from the sale.

With a net worth estimated to be in excess of $8 billion, Carl Icahn can afford to diversify his holdings. In the technology sector, his holdings include Motorola and Motricity. His investments in the biotechnology sector include Telik, which conducts cancer research, and Imclone, most famous for the dealings of former shareholder Martha Stewart. In addition to his stake in Time Warner, Icahn is invested in media and entertainment with holdings in Blockbuster Video, Marvel Comics and video game publisher Take Two Entertainment. He is the beneficial owner of over six million shares of Florida-based real estate developer WCI Communities.

Like other billionaires, Carl Icahn has used some of his fortune for philanthropic efforts. His name graces the Icahn Stadium, the Icahn Science Center and the Icahn Scholar Program. He has also made large donations to Princeton University and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Carl Icahn is a self-made billionaire who has earned a place on the Forbes 400 List of the richest Americans as well Forbes World's Richest People list several years in a row. With his large well-diversified holdings and sometimes controversial manner of influencing boards, his investment moves are tracked by both the media and the markets.

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