Shares of his firm Icahn Enterprises surged 8% on Thursday, boosting Icahn’s $6.8 billion stake to $7.3 billion. The majority of his $17.9 billion fortune is privately held.
Through Icahn Enterprises, the investor controls oil refiner CVR Energy, whose shares jumped 10% Thursday. Icahn publicly criticized the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year for burdening U.S. refiners with rules meant to promote renewable fuels. Trump said Icahn, one of the president-elect’s earliest supporters, will be in charge of helping him get rid of regulations that are costing jobs and limiting growth.
“Carl was with me from the beginning and, with his being one of the world’s great businessmen, that was something I truly appreciated,” Trump said in a statement released Wednesday. “He is not only a brilliant negotiator, but also someone who is innately able to predict the future, especially having to do with finances and economies. His help on the strangling regulations that our country is faced with will be invaluable.”
Though Icahn only accepted the role with the Trump camp on Wednesday, he has backed Trump throughout the president-elect’s campaign and transition period. Trump floated Icahn’s name as a possible treasury secretary pick as early as June 2015. More recently, Icahn publicly backed Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Wilbur Ross as picks for Trump’s departments of treasury and commerce. Both were eventually selected. Icahn is now said to be playing a key role in the selection of the next head of the SEC. Icahn’s wife, Gail, is a member of the committee planning Trump’s inaugural festivities.
The two billionaires have a complicated history spanning back at least three decades. Icahn was the largest single bondholder in Trump’s Taj Mahal property during its early-90s bankruptcy. While some investors wanted to force the casino into involuntary bankruptcy, Icahn and commerce-secretary pick Ross eventually worked out a deal with the Donald. As part of a prepackaged bankruptcy, Trump gave up 50% of his stake in the Taj but received better debt terms and stayed involved.
Article Appeared @http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2016/12/22/trump-advisor-icahn-gains-510-million-day-after-accepting-role/#748995b86312