When most investors, including the pros, all agree on something, they're usually wrong.
Carl IcahnRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the disparity in corporate pay based on performance and systemic issues.
Carl Icahn's quote reflects the frustration with the corporate pay structure, suggesting that CEOs often receive excessive compensation despite their poor performance due to systemic flaws in the industry. It raises questions about accountability and the criteria used to reward leadership in business, ultimately critiquing the disconnect between executive pay and company success.
Themes
CeoCompensationPerformanceBusinessSystemAccountability
In practice
Example use cases
To emphasize the flaws in executive compensation during a business meeting.
More from Carl Icahn
All quotes →When friends and acquaintances are telling you [that] you are a genius, before you accept their opinion, take a moment to remember what you always thought of their opinions in the past.
Carl IcahnRead
Similar quotes
On the simplest level, telecommuting makes it harder for people to have the kinds of informal interactions that are crucial to the way knowledge moves through an organization. The role that hallway chat plays in driving new ideas has become a cliche of business writing, but that doesn't make it less true.
James SurowieckiRead
Banking is very good business if you don't do anything dumb.
Warren BuffettRead
We used to think that everything started in the lab. Now we realize that everything spins off the consumer.
Phil KnightRead
Investment banking is not a business; it is a personal service where bankers work hand in hand with their clients. And it is a service that must not simply be about making bigger and bigger deals that reap rewards for only a small group of executives.
Felix RohatynRead
One of my business partners would remind me that no fashion line lasts forever, that we would hit the down curve eventually, and that we needed to look for new brands that complement the first one.
Daymond JohnRead
Learn to sell. In business you’re always selling: to your prospects, investors and employees. To be the best salesperson put yourself in the shoes of the person to whom you’re selling. Don’t sell your product. Solve their problems.
Mark CubanRead