Thread by @NeckarValue

Carl Icahn famously said: “If you want a friend on Wall Street, get a dog.”

He's a tough negotiator and built a fortune for himself.

When he rose to fame in the 1980's, it was him against the world. Him and his analyst - Al Kingsley.

This is Kingsley, drowning in paper. He was responsible for the details.

“Carl and Kingsley operate like a couple of rag merchants. Carl is always yelling at Kingsley, but it all bounces off Al. Al has a great mind."

"He puts things in a language Carl can relate to. I used to explain things from a cash-flow standpoint but Kingsley would recast it into a ‘put money and here’s what you get for it’ approach. The Carl-like way.'”

In 2015, Icahn and Boone Pickens sat down for a chat.

At minute 2, Boone asked Icahn: "You remember Al? What's up with him?"
Icahn waves it off, "he's doing something in biotech."

And I thought: yeah, whatever happened to Al?

Turns out he ran his own shop doing activism in the 1990s. Called Greenway Partners. Backed by Soros though. Not Icahn. Odd.

"Mr. Icahn is said to blame Mr. Kingsley for that nightmare, but Mr. Kingsley says, "It's stupid to ask who was to blame for [the decision to buy] TWA."

TWA was an airline Icahn gained control of that eventually went bankrupt.
wsj.com/articles/SB875…

From Icahn's biography:
“No one has been nurtured by Carl. Guys who worked around Bass, Milken, Perelman, all got rich in their own right. Not with Carl. If Kingsley made any money it’s because he knew how to make investments.

Carl doesn’t share his success with anyone.”

"In Icahn’s kingdom, there is no place for partners. Virtually all of the equity and all of the power rest with the king."

Keep this in mind when you think about your own career and who to work for.

Try to find people who want to see you succeed. Who will boost you and back you. Who believe in being partners, not in getting all the upside for themselves. Remember Al Kingsley.