The US economy’s battle with rampant inflation is at least partially attributable to poor leadership from “terrible” CEOs at big companies, according to the billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn. Icahn, 86, lashed out at bad bosses ahead of the Tuesday premiere of the HBO documentary “Icahn: The Restless Billionaire.” In a series of tweets, the famous financier ripped alleged corporate mismanagement that, he argued, has contributed to instability and prevented the economy from reaching its full potential. He didn’t detail specifically how the bad CEOs were stoking inflation, other than to say companies weren’t operating at their most productive because of their alleged bad decision-making. “A major reason for my participation in the film was that I wanted to convey the following message: There are many good CEOs and boards, but there are far too many terrible ones that are hurting our economy,” Icahn tweeted. “Even though we have great corporations, the boards of these companies don’t hold their CEOs accountable, and we are therefore not nearly as productive as we should be, which is a major reason for inflation and the wealth gap,” the billionaire argued. Inflation reached a four-decade high of 7.5% in January, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index. 2/3 I’m honored to be of interest to @HBOdocs. A major reason for my participation in the film was that I wanted to convey the following message: There are many good CEOs and boards, but there are far too many terrible ones that are hurting our economy…— Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) February 16, 2022 3/3 Even though we have great corporations, the boards of these companies don’t hold their CEOs accountable, and we are therefore not nearly as productive as we should be, which is a major reason for inflation and the wealth gap.— Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) February 16, 2022 Top US economic officials have largely blamed the surge in prices on supply-chain disruptions that have been slower to resolve than initially expected, with a nationwide labor shortage also contributing to the crisis. Icahn did not single out any CEOs or board chairs by name in his Twitter diatribe, but the billionaire has built his reputation by agitating for change at major companies in which he has invested. Icahn has a personal net worth of nearly $17 billion, according to Forbes. The billionaire once held a 10% stake in Netflix and floated the idea that the streaming giant should sell itself to another tech firm. Icahn earned nearly $2 billion on the investment. He also engaged in high-profile battles involving companies like Time Warner and Marvel. “Activist or raider, call me what you want, I made this money because the system is so bad, not because I’m a genius,” Icahn says in the trailer for the HBO documentary, which features an appearance from a fellow billionaire, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
