Bill Gross Has Harsh Words For Carl Icahn

If you were to count how many of the big-named Wall Street investors have a teddy bear personality, you wouldn’t count very high but one of those might be Bill Gross.

Following the release of Carl Icahn’s letter to Apple, Bill Gross had some harsh words for Icahn—at least by Bill Gross standards.

To bond investors, Bill Gross is a household name. He’s often called, “the bond king” and runs the Pimco Total Return Fund. That fund alone holds $250 billion in assets. He’s also the co-chief investment officer at Pimco with assets under management of $1.97 trillion.

But Gross isn’t normally known as the type that puts himself in the middle of Wall Street ego wars. He’s the nice guy from a small town in Ohio who happens to be worth $2 billion.

Related: Carl Icahn Sends Out Another ‘Dear Tim’ Letter

Thursday, after Icahn published his letter to Apple AAPL Gross said,

Gross: Icahn should leave #Apple alone & spend more time like Bill Gates. If #Icahn’s so smart, use it to help people not yourself.

— PIMCO (@PIMCO) October 24, 2013

That’s not normally the style of Gross, somebody who endowed a foundation with $293 million, raised money for Doctors Without Borders by selling parts of his stamp collection, and gave $20 million each to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Mercy Ships, an international medical charity.

Icahn is no stranger to charity either. He pledged $200 million to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, endowed five charter schools in New York City and signed Warren Buffett’s and Bill Gates’s Giving Pledge. A spokesperson declined to comment when asked if Gates had singed the same pledge.

The normally standoffish Icahn wasn’t going to go Bill Ackman-style when asked about Bill Gross during a CNBC interview.

"I have respect for both those guys. I think Bill Gross certainly has a right to his opinion, as does Sculley," Icahn said. "But it doesn't mean they are right."

Along with Gross, another big Wall Street name threw his support towards Apple CEO Tim Cook. Former CEO John Sculley said Wednesday, "Well, Carl Icahn is one smart guy," he said. "But the reality is Apple is about building great products, great experiences, and if I were Tim Cook, I'd deal with him the way Steve Jobs would probably with him—not blink."

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Tim Parker was long Apple.