15. Guest Lecture by Carl Icahn

Financial Markets (ECON 252)
Mr. Carl Icahn, a prominent activist investor in corporate America, talks about his career and how he became interested in finance and involved in shareholder activism. He discusses his thoughts about today's economy and American businesses and their inherent threats and opportunities. He believes that the biggest challenge facing corporate America is weak management and that today's CEOs, with exceptions, might not be the most capable of leading global companies. He sees opportunities for current, intelligent college students to succeed in the corporate world if they work hard and can identify valuable business pursuits.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Carl Icahn: A Self-Introduction
06:10 - Chapter 2. An Anti-Darwinian Corporate America
19:56 - Chapter 3. Questions: Personal Motivation and Inspiration
29:21 - Chapter 4. Questions: Activist Investing in the Real World
38:53 - Chapter 5. Questions: Sensing Potential in Poorly Managed Companies
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in Spring 2008.