Multibillionaires don't need additional income to make ends meet. However, some of them can nonetheless be accurately viewed as income investors.
Carl Icahn serves as a great example. The hedge fund manager has accumulated a net worth in the billions of dollars.
Most of the stocks he owns pay dividends. Several of them offer especially juicy payouts and include some of his top holdings. Icahn has $9.9 billion invested in the following five high-yield dividend stocks.
1. Icahn Enterprises LP
Icahn's biggest position by far is Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP +1.96%). He owns nearly 368 million shares of the limited partnership that are currently worth almost $6.6 billion. Icahn Enterprises LP itself wholly or partially owns stakes in other companies.
NASDAQ: IEP
Key Data Points
The stock has a mind-boggling dividend yield of nearly 22.5%. Although Icahn Enterprises LP has lost roughly two-thirds of its value over the last 12 months, one Wall Street analyst thinks that it can rebound.
2. CVR Energy
Icahn is also heavily invested in CVR Energy (CVI 0.98%), and it's his second-largest holding. The iconic (pun fully intended) investor's position in the petroleum refiner and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer is worth nearly $2.2 billion.
CVR Energy is Icahn's only ultra-high-yield dividend stock other than Icahn Enterprises LP. Its dividend yield currently stands at a little under 6.2%.
3. Southwest Gas Holdings
Southwest Gas Holdings (SWX +0.14%) ranks as Icahn's third-largest position. The natural gas stock makes up around 5.4% of his total portfolio. The 87-year-old investor's stake in Southwest Gas Holdings is valued at close to $655 million.
NYSE: SWX
Key Data Points
The stock offers a dividend yield of nearly 4.2%. Although Southwest Gas Holdings hasn't raised its dividend payout since 2022, its dividend has grown by 88% over the last 10 years.
4. FirstEnergy
FirstEnergy (FE +1.39%) is Icahn's fourth-largest holding. He owns a little over 11 million shares of the electric utility that are currently worth in the ballpark of $512 million.
The stock's dividend yield tops 4.5%. FirstEnergy doesn't boast a great track record of dividend increases. However, the company did boost its dividend payout by 5% in December 2023.
5. International Flavors & Fragrances
Icahn doesn't only invest in energy and utility stocks. He owns a relatively small position in International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF +0.59%), which focuses on food and beverage, fragrance, personal care, and health and wellness markets. His stake in the company is worth around $53 million.
NYSE: IFF
Key Data Points
International Flavors & Fragrances offers a dividend that yields over 3.9%. While the company hasn't increased its payout since mid-2022, its dividend has more than doubled over the last 10 years.
Are these high-yield stocks good picks for income investors?
Icahn is an activist investor who buys stakes in companies and then advocates for major changes to reward shareholders. This style isn't a good fit for many retail investors. In particular, income investors tend to prefer lower volatility with their stocks. As a result, the stocks in Icahn's portfolio won't be great picks for most income investors.
That said, some value investors who also seek income might be interested in CVR Energy and FirstEnergy. CVR Energy's shares trade at close to 11.8x expected earnings, while FirstEnergy's forward earnings multiple is 13.5x.
My personal view, though, is that there are better high-yield dividend stocks to buy that offer more attractive risk/reward propositions. They might not be the kind of stocks Icahn prefers, but investors who aren't multibillionaires could find them more to their liking.
