CARL ICAHN

My wife watches me like a hawk.

When you have no one to answer to, vendetta as investment strategy is as legitimate as anything.

Don't go in and tell somebody else how to run their business.

I enjoy the hunt much more than the 'good life' after the victory.

I like winning. There's also a certain joy in it. I feel fulfilled by it.

Anyone that makes me a quarter of a billion dollars, I like.

In 2008, people who invested in hedge funds needed capital badly, but many of the funds would not return their money. However, I gave money back to any investor who requested it. It was the bottom of the market and a pretty tough time.

You learn in this business: It you want a friend, get a dog.

I'm a cynic about corporate democracy and boards.

When nobody wants something, that creates an opportunity.

A lot of people died fighting tyranny. The least I can do is vote against it.

We're not about liquidating companies, but if you do that, why is that terrible? We're not blowing up the factories. The person who buys it should be able to make the asset more productive.

Too often it's not the most creative guys or the smartest. Instead, it's the ones who are best at playing politics and soft-soaping their bosses. Boards don't like tough, abrasive guys.

Reuters was completely accurate that I am concerned about the level of the market. But I also made it clear on the conference call (and I believe as Reuters reported it), that it is almost impossible to predict what a market will do in the short term. There are too many variables.

Some people get rich studying artificial intelligence. Me, I make money studying natural stupidity.

And I'm convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you can work with the unions because the unions want to survive. If they are confronted simply with the question: "Do you want this company to survive or do you want it to be broken up?" they will listen. It's their livelihood.

Had a nice conversation with Tim Cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly.

I have to look out for the shareholder’s interests, and I’m the largest shareholder.

The CEO is, by far, the most important decision for a company... The company is going to rise and fall with the CEO.

Now the guy that got to the top, the CEO, would obviously be stupid to have a number two guy who was a lot smarter than he is. So by definition, since he's a survivor and he got to the top and he isn't that brilliant, his number two guy is going to always be a little worse than he is. So, as time goes on, it's anti-Darwinism, the survival of the un- fittest.

CEOs are paid for doing a terrible job. If the system wasn't so messed up, guys like me wouldn't make this kind of money.

Yellen’s comments suggest, and I agree, that we are in an asset bubble.

I'm no robin hood, I enjoy making the money.

With some exceptions, the wrong people are running U.S. companies. It's been that way for years, and it hasn't gotten much better.

When most investors, including the pros, all agree on something, they're usually wrong.