Philip A. Falcone is an American businessman and the founder of Harbinger Capital and LightSquared. Early life and education Philip Falcone grew up in Chisholm, Minnesota with nine siblings in a three-bedroom house. He attended Harvard University on financial aid and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1984. Growing up in Chisholm, Falcone was a stand-out hockey player. He went on to play Varsity hockey at Harvard. After graduating, Falcone played professionally for the Malmö Redhawks, a Swedish professional hockey team, until his playing career ended after one professional season when he sustained a leg injury. Career In 1985, he started his career at Kidder, Peabody & Co. He also worked at Wachovia. He was also Senior High Yield trader at First Union Capital Markets in Charlotte, North Carolina. From 1990 to 1995, he served as president and CEO of AAB Manufacturing Corporation". He was the head of High Yield trading at Gleacher Natwest from 1997 to 1998, and at Barclays Capital from 1998 to 2000. In 2000, he founded Harbinger Capital with Raymond J. Harbert. In 2008, Falcone became a minority owner of the NHL's Minnesota Wild hockey team when he purchased a 40% stake of the hockey team. Through Harbinger Capital, Falcone and Harbert owned 20% of The New York Times in 2009. That same year, Falcone became its majority owner, though Harbert remained an investor. He is a founding council member of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. He has made further donations to the American Museum of Natural History. In February 2013, Forbes listed Falcone as one of the 40 Highest-Earning hedge fund managers. On November 25, 2014, it was announced that Falcone would step down as chief executive and chairman of Harbinger Group effective December 1 to focus on his other venture, HC2 Holdings. Lightsquared A significant focus on Phil Falcone's investment activities has been the telecommunications company Lightsquared, which attempted to build a multibillion-dollar satellite-based network that would have supplied 4G wireless broadband in competition with AT&T and Verizon Wireless. The plan, however, consisted of gaining wireless spectrum reserved for satellite uses and employing it for terrestrial communication. Critics described this use of wireless spectrum as a loophole meant to avoid paying royalties to the government. Republican legislators like Chuck Grassley, Ralph Hall and Darrell Issa have expressed concerns that he would receive special treatment to develop LightSquared