Trump ex-adviser dumped steel-related stocks
ANALYSIS /
President Donald Trump's decision Thursday to impose crippling tariffs on the imports of steel and aluminum took many by surprise — particularly investors, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day's trading down more than 400 points, or 1.7 percent, at 24,608.
But one billionaire investor and former Trump adviser, Carl Icahn, was seemingly unvexed, having dumped a million shares tied to the steel industry a week before the president announced 25 percent tariff for foreignmade steel.
A Feb. 22 SEC filing shows Icahn sold off his $31.3 million stake in the Manitowoc Company, which is a leading global manufacturer of cranes for heavy construction based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, according to the company's website. Since Trump's announcement Thursday, Manitowoc's stock has plummeted to about $26. Icahn — who has had majority interest in several companies including Motorola, Xerox, Family Dollar and Pep Boys — had sold his shares for about $32 to $34 each, according to the filing.
Icahn had not actively traded any Manitowoc stock since January 2015, according to regulatory filings.
The tariffs are Trump's response to a determination by the Commerce Department earlier this month that increasing import volumes posed a risk to U.S. national security. Trump's decision, which leans on a little-used provision of U.S. trade law, has now caused other countries to retaliate against American exports.
Although Icahn no longer advises Trump in a formal role, the two reportedly still talk. Icahn resigned from his position as a "special adviser" to Trump on regulatory reform in August, claiming he didn't want to step on the toes of Neomi Rao, the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and because he wanted to avoid conflicts of interest over regulations that would impact an oil refinery company he owns, CVR Energy.
Icahn's role was novel. He would be an adviser with a formal title, but he would not receive a salary, and he would not be required to divest himself of any of his holdings, or to make any disclosures about potential conflicts of interest. "Carl Icahn will be advising the president in his individual capacity," Trump's transition team asserted.
In the months after the election, the stock price of CVR, Icahn's refiner, nearly doubled — a surge that is difficult to explain without acknowledging the appointment of the company's lead shareholder to a White House position. The rally meant a personal benefit for Icahn, at least on paper, of half a billion dollars.