The Icahn Laughter Medicine

Carl Icahn has surely had better weeks than this one.

The week started off with news that the funds run by the billionaire activist investor posted their first quarterly loss ever in the third quarter. According to a regulatory filing by Icahn Enterprises, the entity that controls the funds, Icahn's securities lost more than $74 million during the third quarter, compared to a gain of $228 million in the same three-month period last year.

Losses from stakes in WCI Communities and Lear drove the decline.

Also this week, Oracle's Larry Ellison said he would drop his pursuit of BEA Systems after the company balked at his initial takeover offer. Icahn, with a 13.2 percent stake in BEA, has been pressuring the board to sell. BEA says it's worth $8.2 billion, more than the $6.7 billion that Oracle offered.

And, on a more personal note, one of Lazard's top bankers, Michael Biondi, reportedly died at his home this week. Biondi was one of the key bankers who helped Icahn wage his battle against the board of Time Warner last year.

But Icahn is usually the one that the staid, buttoned-up industry looks to for laughs. So, since Carl isn't laughing much this week, we thought we'd share a clip from a time when he was. In 2003, Icahn did a stand-up number at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York. Hear him earn laughs by making fun of Leon Black and Skadden, Arps lawyers from deals in better times.

by Megan Barnett