Icahn has used his reputation to fuel Icahn Enterprises, an ~$18 billion market cap NASDAQ-listed investment vehicle offering exposure to Icahn’s personal portfolio, including a mix of public and private companies such as petroleum refiners, auto parts distributors, food packaging companies and real estate.

The company began as American Real Estate Partners L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership formed in 1987. In 2007, the name was changed to Icahn Enterprises after it purchased Icahn’s private asset management business for $810 million.

Carl Icahn and his son Brett manage the company and are its largest holders, with 85% of the company. Bulls believe this stake aligns Icahn’s incentives with public investors, as Icahn’s holdings in IEP comprise ~85% of his net worth, based on Forbes data.

Beyond the allure of investing with one of the most well-known names on Wall Street, the other key draw to Icahn Enterprises units has been the company’s consistent $2 per quarter cash dividend, amounting to an annualized yield of about 15.8%, giving IEP the highest dividend yield of any large cap (>$10 billion) company by far, with the next closest being a 9.9% yield, according to FactSet screening.

IEP’s dividend – paid consistently for 71 quarters straight – has been the key allure for IEP’s retail investor base. The company has a history of increasing its dividends, with the current dividend of $2.00 per unit per quarter in place since Q1 2019.