川的富佬策士

ZT.  Shares of CVR Energy (CVI) and CVR Refining (CVRR) were rallying Thursday after media reports confirmed that president-elect Donald Trump chose billionaire investor Carl Icahn to be his special advisor on regulation. 

Icahn holds an 82% controlling stake in CVR Energy and about 4% of CVR Refining's outstanding shares, according to Capital IQ. Shares of CVR Energy and CVR Refining jumped 13% and 12%, respectively, in intraday trading.

Icahn, who has spent the past four decades battling big companies as an activist investor, is playing a central role in selecting the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, people familiar with the matter were cited as saying in a report from the Wall Street Journal.

As a prominent activist, Icahn has much at stake in the next SEC chairman as activist fights are tightly controlled by the SEC, the WSJ news report said.

Carl Icahn was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as an adviser.

As one of Wall Street's most notable and successful investors, Icahn certainly has a lot to contribute. His inside knowledge of how businesses can operate more efficiently and productively can be leveraged on the national stage through the implementation of more business friendly policies.

Icahn will also advise Trump on other aspects of government, potentially including future appointees to his cabinet.

CNBC's Scott Wapner asked Icahn why the American public shouldn't be concerned that a major shareholder of a company like CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CVI) helps advise the president on issues that directly affect the refining industry.

"I could understand saying that I shouldn't be involved in owning these [companies] if I were making policy," Icahn argued. "I'm not making any policy - I give my opinion. And I think I'm good at that."

Icahn continued that the bigger issue at hand is the lack of corporate investments because many corporations feel they are battling a "war" against the government. This perception can't be changed until a new government comes in and "cleans this mess up."