Carl Icahn's wealth has plunged by $15 billion since a short-seller targeted him – but the activist investor says he's ready to fight back
- Carl Icahn's wealth has fallen by $15 billion since Hindenburg targeted him last month.
- The 87-year-old activist investor said in a recent interview that he's ready to fight the short-seller.
Carl Icahn said in a recent interview that he's bracing for a fight against Hindenburg Research after its report last month cratered his personal fortune.
The 87-year-old activist investor told Bloomberg that while he didn't expect the short-seller to target him, he's relishing the battle to defend his business empire.
"People come and ask me, 'How do you feel?' Maybe it sounds strange, but it doesn't really affect me a whole lot. It's my nature," Icahn said in the interview, published Monday evening.
"If you're going to be bothered by this, you shouldn't be in this business," he added.
Icahn's comments come after his wealth plummeted by $15 billion following the release of Hindenburg's report.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the activist investor's net worth has slumped from nearly $25 billion to just under $10 billion since the short-seller said Icahn Enterprises (IEP) was significantly overvalued on May 2.
Hindenburg alleged that the Wall Street legend's holding company inflated asset valuations and used "ponzi-like economic structures" to move money from new investors to older ones.
Icahn said at the time that Hindenburg's report was purely "self-serving" and that he stood by his conglomerate's public disclosures.
But IEP shares have plummeted 43% since the short-seller targeted the company, wiping out a big chunk of Icahn's wealth.
Icahn told Bloomberg that he's still pressing ahead with an attack of his own against gene-sequencing company Illumina, which is set to hold its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.
The veteran investor also expressed regret for making a costly bet that US markets and the economy would tank, which cost his company $9 billion over the course of several years.
"I strayed from what I really do the best," Icahn told Bloomberg. "Yeah, I could've been richer."