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T. Boone Pickens

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Thomas Boone Pickens, Jr.
File:BoonePickens.JPG
T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Born (1928-05-22) May 22, 1928 (age 96)
United StatesHoldenville, Oklahoma
Occupation(s)Financier; Chairman, BP Capital Management
SpouseMadeleine Pickens

Thomas Boone Pickens, Jr. (born May 22, 1928) is an American businessman, Chairman of the private equity firm BP Capital Management, and well-known takeover artist during the 1980s. With an estimated current net worth of around $2.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 131-richest person in America and ranked #369 in the World.

Early years

Pickens was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma, to a Texas oil and mineral rights leasor. As his mother was about to give birth to Boone, doctors told his father that complications had arisen, and that they could save only Boone or his mother. His father refused to accept the doctors' decision, and finally directed that they perform the first Caesarean section in the history of the Holdenville hospital. His mother survived.[1]

Pickens attended Texas A&M and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University), joining Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He graduated from Oklahoma A&M with a degree in geology in 1951.

After graduation he started working for Phillips Petroleum until 1954. After a period as a wildcatter, he struck out on his own founding the company that became Mesa Petroleum in 1956.[2]

The Mergers and Acquisitions years

Pickens was one of the first independent oilmen to grow his company by acquisitions rather than by just exploration. Before reaching the age of 40, Pickens led Mesa's first big acquisition, the Hougoton Production Company, which was 30 times the size of Mesa.[3]

By 1981, Mesa had grown into one of the largest independent oil companies in the world, and Pickens shifted his focus to acquiring other oil and gas companies. He spent much of the decade targeting undervalued companies, making solicited and unsolicited buyout bids and other merger and acquisition activity. This made Pickens a celebrity during the 'deal-making' 80s. His most publicized deals included attempted buyouts of Cities Services, Gulf Oil, Phillips Petroleum and Unocal.[4]

File:BoonePickens.jpg
Boone Pickens Mar 4, 1985

These as well as other deals placed Pickens at the center of controversy during the 80s. His celebrity rose so quickly after the Gulf Oil takeover bid that he appeared on the cover of Time magazine[5] and briefly considered running for president in the 1988 elections [citation needed]. During this period, he was often characterised as a corporate raider and greenmailer, as many of his deals were not completed though Pickens and the shareholders he represented received substantial profits through the eventual sale of their stock. His later takeover targets included Newmont Mining, a New York-based firm, Diamond Shamrock, and Koito Mfg., Ltd., a Japanese auto-parts manufacturer, making substantial gains in the process.[6] He was also a major force in the creation of the United Shareholders Association (USA), which from 1986 to 1993 attempted to influence the governance of several large companies. After nearly two years of periodic hearing and debate, in July 1998 the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-1 to approve a one-share, one-vote rule, a primary USA objective.

On the local level, Pickens chaired the Board of Regents of West Texas State University and the Potter County, Texas Republican Party. Pickens organized a campaign in the mid-1980s against the local newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, for what he claimed was inaccurate reporting about his deals and Mesa. His attempts to have the newspaper owner, Morris Communications, change editorial policy to treat Pickens more favorably were famously rebuffed. Shortly thereafter, in 1989, Pickens and Mesa moved to Dallas.[7]

More recently, Pickens has focused his energy on his alma mater, the Stillwater campus of Oklahoma State University (OSU). Through his tax-deductible contributions, Pickens has spearheaded an effort to create an athletic village just north of the existing campus. In order to do so, hundreds of homes were purchased by the OSU administration using Pickens' contributions. As a result, Oklahoma State will have world-class athletic facilities. Pickens' gift remains the largest donation to a university's athletic program in collegiate history. His total contributions to OSU come to over $290 million dollars. Over $265 million, or 92%, of his donations have been towards athletics. Pickens also has made substantial academic gifts to Oklahoma State University, particularly to the School of Geology, which is named for him.

Recent interests

Recently, Pickens has begun buying up subsurface water rights in Texas.

Pickens has also begun speaking out on the issue of Peak Oil, claiming that world oil production is about to enter a period of irrevocable decline. He has called for the construction of more nuclear power plants, the use of natural gas to power the country's transportation systems, and the promotion of alternative energy. Pickens' involvement with the natural gas fueling campaign is long-running. He formed Pickens Fuel Corp. in 1997 and began touting natural gas as the best vehicular fuel alternative because it's a domestic resource that, among many advantages, is clean (Natural Gas Vehicles or NGVs emit up to 95% less pollution than gasoline or diesel vehicles) and reduces foreign oil consumption. Reincorporated as Clean Energy in 2001, the company now owns and operates natural gas fueling stations from British Columbia to the Mexican border.

In 2006, the Financial Times reported that Pickens had received $1.4 billion as head of BP Capital Management the previous year.

Pickens and friend and fellow financier Harold Clark Simmons are financial supporters of President George W. Bush, having contributed heavily to both his Texas and national political campaigns. In 2004, Pickens contributed generously to conservative 527 groups, including a $3 million contribution for the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth attacking Bush's rival, John Kerry, and $2.5 million to the Progress for America advocacy group. In 2006, contributions from Pickens, Simmons and Houston homebuilder Bob Perry made up approximately 62% of the funding of Stop Her Now, a conservative group whose proposed intent is to derail the potential presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.[1] Pickens made a $250,000 contribution for Bush's second inaugural celebration. Looking ahead to the 2008 election, Pickens is aligned with the Presidential exploratory campaign of Rudy Giuliani.[2] Since 1980, Pickens has contributed over $6 million in political donations.[3]

Pickens and employees of his BP Capital LLC donated $7 million to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The Chronicle of Philanthropy listed Pickens as the fifth-largest charitable giver in 2005. He has donated nearly a half a billion dollars to philanthropic causes during his career.

On December 30, 2005, Pickens made a $165 million gift to Oklahoma State University. The New York Times reported that "the money spent less than an hour on Dec. 30 in the account of the university's charity, O.S.U. Cowboy Golf Inc., before it was invested in a hedge fund controlled by Mr. Pickens, BP Capital Management."[4] Pickens, who is on the board of the O.S.U. Cowboy Golf, waived any management fees for the OSU monies (although this agreement was not reduced to writing), however, and all profits of the fund go to growing the OSU gift. The gift is intended to help fund an upgrade of the football stadium and construction of an athletic village, but sparked controversy because OSU planned to use eminent domain to acquire residential property for the projects. [5] The donation comes after a $70 million gift from Pickens to OSU in 2003, which was similarly structured using O.S.U. Cowboy Golf, Inc. [6] On ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, Michael Wilbon said that after these gifts, Pickens "is now the owner of Oklahoma State athletics", and remarked that "no coach should dare run afoul of Pickens now...He's got everyone in Stillwater in his pocket, which is dangerous."

Pickens who lives in Dallas, Texas, for decades has owned a ranch along the Canadian River in the Texas Panhandle. He is married to Madeleine Pickens, widow of renowned Thoroughbred racehorse owner Allen E. Paulson. He was divorced from Beatrice Carr and from Lynn O'Brien. Pickens' son, Michael O'Brien Pickens, was arrested and charged with securities fraud, a "pump and dump" scam using junk faxes, in July, 2005 [7]. Michael pled guilty in October of 2006. [8]

Pickens and his wife are self professed animal rights supporters. Pickens is currently lobbying for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503) which will prohibit the slaughter of 100,000 horses for human consumption and the trade and transport of horseflesh and live horses intended for human consumption.[8]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Wieberg, Steve. "Tycoon's $165M gift to Oklahoma State raises both hopes and questions", USA Today, August 15, 2006.
  2. ^ Pickens, T. Boone (1987). Boone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-41433-4. pp. 22-41.
  3. ^ Pickens, T. Boone (1987). Boone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-41433-4. p. 73.
  4. ^ Pickens, T. Boone (1987). Boone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-41433-4. pp. 149-260.
  5. ^ http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19850304,00.html Mar 4, 1985
  6. ^ http://www.famoustexans.com/boonepickens.htm
  7. ^ http://www.famoustexans.com/boonepickens.htm
  8. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4171519.html
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