With each volley that Icahn and Andreessen fire back and forth, I'm left more humbled by how incredibly smart these two men are. I feel like I'm watching master communicators slug it out and I'm learning an incredible amount from the action.
When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
61–70 of 127 posts
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
that's the only way to look at it; Icahn is a thieving sack of shit. Look at TWA: Icahn got fucking paid no matter whether TWA succeeded or failed. I can maybe see how these leeches ought to get 1/2 billion dollar payouts if they come in and rescue a company, but 0.5B when they ruin a company? Heads I win, tails you lose.
What puts you in a position to be an objective judge of the dealings of billionaires?
their behavior, particularly said behavior's effects on others
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#63If you want to see the face of capitalism, look to Carl Icahn.
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#64Marc's paying for too much attention to Icahn. He should have simply issued a short statement refuting Icahn's allegations and laying out the facts, and then ignored him, like one would a crazy homeless guy ranting on the street.
Instead, it's in danger of turning into a mud-slinging contest.
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#65For those that don't know what is going on, here is the backstory: Carl Icahn has recently bought a bunch of ebay stock. He has claimed the company is mismanaged. He has also personally attacked Marc Andreesen. Here is the accusation from Ichan: 1) Marc Andreesen was/is on ebay's board. 2) While on ebay's board, Marc bought most of Skype from eBay. 3) He flipped Skype to Microsoft in less than 2 years, earning himsel…
Carl Icahn is scum. He does serve a purpose, and scum cleans out scum every once in a while. But I believe he is a virus and a destructive force dismantling companies for personal gain. Although he is scum, if there were virus's like him, large companies would live on forever and have nothing to fear. Interesting mechanics at work.
total agree!
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think Marc Andreessen position is weak in this fight. I have absolutely no empathy for Carl Icahn, but on this issue, he's got a good point. It seems Marc Andreessen had a conflict of interest and instead of showing that wasn't the case, Andreessen decided to attack Icahn for stuff that aren't related to this issue, even if they were definitely questionable.
What, Icahn can fling random accusations but Andreessen can't? It's all just mud-slinging. As for Andreessen's motive, I suppose he probably thinks Icahn is making a power play and is more interested in fending off Icahn than in defending himself in this particular instance. Icahn clearly wants Andreessen on the defensive, so it kind of makes sense, though it all feels a bit embarrassing.
A mature response to mud-slinging is almost never yet more mud-slinging.
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#67Carl Icahn is the Cryptonomicon's Dentist. A wolf that ravages, feeds and moves on.
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#68In my view, after his humiliation by Apple's board, Carl Icahn feels his power (and by proxy the power of wall street) slowly and surely being stripped away by tech. This is at the root of his obsession with pmarca, who famously claimed that "software is eating the world." The world that's being eaten is the world of Icahn and wall street financiers like him. The tech industry has its own source of finance (namely an…
I can't presume to understand Carl Icahn (as you admitted as well) but IMHO, this is untrue and can lead fellow HNers into an echo chamber. First, Wall Street's role in capital markets towers over Silicon Valley. Venture Capital Assets Under Management is approximately $200 billion. Blackrock, the world's largest fund, has $4.3 trillion AUM. Second, while I believe pmarca acted entirely in good faith and is legally i…
Also, I do not agree, the wealth created by tech companies is legitimate progress, whereas finance is more rent-seeking/pushing tail-risk off to the government.
The link below informs much more of my world-view however. http://lesswrong.com/lw/jna/finance_as_a_career_option/ajkc
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't presume to understand Carl Icahn (as you admitted as well) but IMHO, this is untrue and can lead fellow HNers into an echo chamber. First, Wall Street's role in capital markets towers over Silicon Valley. Venture Capital Assets Under Management is approximately $200 billion. Blackrock, the world's largest fund, has $4.3 trillion AUM. Second, while I believe pmarca acted entirely in good faith and is legally i…
Also, I do not agree, the wealth created by tech companies is legitimate progress, whereas finance is more rent-seeking/pushing tail-risk off to the government. The link below informs much more of my world-view however. http://lesswrong.com/lw/jna/finance_as_a_career_option/ajkc
While you can be 100% correct, it's a straw man and irrelevant to my point. You can simultaneously believe finance is rent-seeking and still 100% agree with my points in response to the original post: 1) finance is much larger in capital markets; 2) Icahn has legitimacy even if he turns out to be wrong; 3) We should not dovetail into a finance vs. tech argument.
Re: When Carl Icahn Ran a Company: The Story of TWA
#70For those that don't know what is going on, here is the backstory: Carl Icahn has recently bought a bunch of ebay stock. He has claimed the company is mismanaged. He has also personally attacked Marc Andreesen. Here is the accusation from Ichan: 1) Marc Andreesen was/is on ebay's board. 2) While on ebay's board, Marc bought most of Skype from eBay. 3) He flipped Skype to Microsoft in less than 2 years, earning himsel…
I don't get why anyone would believe anything Carl Icahn says. It blows my mind how people can be fooled by money. Icahn is professional liar and has profited greatly from his ability to fool and deceive. I don't know the whole story behind this, but Icahn calling out Andreesen for enriching himself at the expense of a company is laughable. The pot calling the kettle black. Regardless, it's too super rich guys throwi…
"Icahn is professional liar and has profited greatly from his ability to fool and deceive."
Even his Twitter profile bio agrees:
"Me, I make money studying natural stupidity."