**Carl Icahn’s Fortune Plunges After Corporate Changes in Response to Short Seller’s Report**
**Carl Icahn’s Net Worth Hits Lowest Point Since Bloomberg Billionaires Index Began Tracking**
Carl Icahn, the activist investor, suffered a $2.7 billion decline in his fortune on Friday as a result of making corporate changes in response to a critical report published by a short seller three months ago. This decrease brought his net worth down to $7.8 billion, marking the lowest point since the Bloomberg Billionaires Index began tracking it 11 years ago, and representing less than a third of his worth in April.
**Icahn Enterprises LP Shares Plummet After Dividend Reduction**
The main investment vehicle for Carl Icahn, Icahn Enterprises LP, saw a significant decline in its shares. It plunged 26% to $24.20 in New York after the company announced a cut in its dividend to half, reducing it to $1 per share. This announcement was made in response to the allegations made by short seller Hindenburg Research in May, where they claimed that the company was overvalued and exposed to risk due to Icahn’s leveraging of his shares.
**Hindenburg Research’s Claims Regarding Icahn Enterprises’ Dividend**
According to Hindenburg Research, the $2 dividend that Icahn Enterprises was offering to retail investors was sustainable only because Carl Icahn, as the biggest shareholder, opted for new shares as payment. Hindenburg alleged that this was the only way the company could afford such a high dividend as Icahn Enterprises consistently operated with negative cash flows.
**Blaming Hindenburg Research for Lackluster Q2 Results**
Carl Icahn partially blamed Hindenburg Research for the lackluster second-quarter results of Icahn Enterprises. The company’s quarterly net loss more than doubled to $269 million compared to the previous year. In a letter to investors, Icahn referred to the short seller’s report as “misleading and self-serving.”
**Significant Decline in Icahn’s Net Worth Since Hindenburg Report**
Since Hindenburg Research published its report, Carl Icahn’s net worth has witnessed a decline of more than $17 billion.
**Reduced Vulnerability to Selloff Due to Loan Agreement Amendment**
Although Carl Icahn’s fortune has experienced a significant decline, it is now less vulnerable to a selloff compared to a few months ago. Previously, the shares of Icahn Enterprises that Icahn pledged as collateral were subject to a margin requirement tied to the company’s market value. However, Icahn recently amended his loan agreements so that the pledged shares are now tied to the company’s book value, which is a less volatile measure.
With the assistance of Tom Maloney
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