Carl Icahn was one of the new breed of takeover specialists, especially hostile takeovers. He began working with a group of investors but by the 1980s, was doing takeovers on his own, with maybe some limited partners who had no control. He began by working at several different Wall Street firms before borrowing money from his uncle to open his own, Icahn and Company. Many of his earlier associates, including Alfred Kingsley came with him when he opened his own firm and they specialized in arbitrage and options trading. They would simultaneously buy and sell a bond and lock in the price differential between the buying price and the higher selling price. With options, they would buy one security and short another at the.....
