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Friday’s "billionaire smackdown" between Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn on CNBC is one stock traders and the financial industry in general won’t soon forget.

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“I can’t recall a situation where everybody pretty much stopped, watched and listened to two big Wall Street names go at it like that,” one broker said.

The two billionaire titans of Wall Street of the universe attacked each other repeatedly on live TV for more than half an hour as viewers sat riveted.

 

Icahn, who called in while Ackman was being interviewed, was freely profane, several times using the kind of language that would raise FCC concerns.

The investors went after each other over Herbalife and other deals.

Ackman stated that the nutritional-supplement company in which he announced a massive short position "deserves the highest level of scrutiny.

"Our goal here was to shed the light on the company," he said at one point, regarding his stance. "Frankly, Carl did me a favor by picking on me."

Icahn, who called in after Ackman’s initial comments, struck back.

"Ackman is a liar," he said. "He’s got one of the worst reputations on Wall Street."

Icahn also accused Ackman of destroying companies by publicly shorting their stocks.

"I’ve really about had it with this guy," he said. "He’s like the crybaby in the schoolyard."

For those on Wall Street, this may have been the equivalent of the Super Bowl.

Who won?