Icahn says he will return his investors’ money

NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor, is returning all of the money that outside investors hold in his hedge funds.

In a letter to limited partners, Icahn said he did not want to be responsible to investors for “another possible market crisis,” especially given the rapid increase in markets over the past two years. Icahn said he was also concerned about the economic outlook and political tensions in the Middle East.

“While we are not forecasting renewed market dislocation, this possibility cannot be dismissed,” Icahn said. The letter was dated Monday and disclosed in a regulatory filing today.

Outside investors constitute 25 percent, or $1.76 billion, of the $7 billion in assets Icahn supervises. Despite losses in 2008, the funds have had returns of 106.9 percent since their inception in 2004.