If anyone is enjoying the current coronavirus pandemic, it’s Carl Icahn. Sure, he may be a member of a vulnerable population in a state that has done practically nothing to prevent the virus’ spread, but he’s also a billionaire on a fortified island compound and just can’t help but smile when things get really, really ugly.
This is especially true when things getting really, really ugly give him some extra leverage in a really, really ugly fight he’s having. And oil’s worst week since Icahn was in his 50s has given him just that vis-à-vis Occidental Petroleum—leverage he’s not at all afraid to use in the middle of a global catastrophe, both against Occidental and to tweak his erstwhile archenemy in the midst of his Ackmanaissance, especially if it spares him quite a bit of work.