Excuse me if while I wipe the tears from my keyboard
October 20, 2008
– Comments (4)
Excuse me if while I wipe the tears from my keyboard and pour out a little of my Dom Perignon on the floor for a fallen fellow investor HAHAHAHAHA, I don't think so. According to a report in this weekend's New York Post, hedge-fund billionaire Carl Icahn has decided to sell his favorite yacht "Starfire" for $37.5 million (good luck getting that sort of money for it...the market for boats is probably even worse than the housing market).
This is more than a story about a string of terrible investment decisions than about the overall market tanking though. Despite his recent win with ImClone, Ichan seems to have jumped the shark (to use a phrase which probably has itself). His company, Icahn Enterprises, is down 76% year-to-date. Ouch. I mocked his investment in Yahoo! at the time and his huge stake in Motorolla has been a nightmare. Add to this purchases of WCI Communities into the worst housing market in ages, Macys into a massive slowdown in consumer spending, Blockbuster (are you kidding me), the list goes on and on.
I'm not sure how Ichan lost his mojo, but it's gone. Watching his moves now is sort of like watching a superstar athlete desperately trying to play a sport despite the fact that they are a shell of their former self. You can throw Kirk Kerkorkian and his disastrous investment in Ford in early 2008 in into this boat as well. These guys are shot. On the other hand, Warren Buffett is an older investor who's still got "it."
Rumor has it that Ichan is looking to trade-up for a bigger yacht, but I'm skeptical. He should save his money. A few more years of the sort of returns that he's been putting up and he'll be knocking on my door looking to mow the lawn.
On a side note, when I do have a second to tune into that terrible show Slow...er uh Fast Money on CNBC, I am always disgusted by how they kiss Ichan's arse so much.
Deej
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