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Harold Hamm

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Harold Hamm
Hamm at the 2012 Time 100 gala
Born
Harold Glenn Hamm

(1945-12-11) December 11, 1945 (age 78)
Lexington, Oklahoma, U.S.
OccupationBusinessman
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Judith Ann
    ​
    (div. 1987)​
  • Sue Ann Arnall
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1988; div. 2014)​
Children5
Two buildings
The Continental Towers in Enid, Oklahoma

Harold Glenn Hamm[1] (born December 11, 1945) is an American business magnate in the oil and gas business. He is known for pioneering fracking of shale oil resources.[2][3] As of February 4, 2022, Hamm's net worth is estimated to be US$18.5 billion, making him the 63rd wealthiest person in the world.[4] He is the founder and chairman of Continental Resources.

In 2012, presidential candidate Mitt Romney named Hamm as his energy advisor,[5] and Hamm was a donor to the Romney campaign. Hamm was a fundraiser and donor to Donald Trump's 2016,[6] 2020,[7] and 2024 presidential campaigns.[8]

Early life

[edit]

Hamm was born in Lexington, Oklahoma, the 13th and youngest child of cotton sharecroppers, Jane Elizabeth (née Sparks) and Leland Albert Hamm.[9][10]

Career

[edit]

In 1967, he founded Shelly Dean Oil Company,[11] which would later become Continental Resources.[12] The company pioneered the development of the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana using horizontally drilled wells and hydraulic fracturing. When Continental Resources grew into a major oil producer, Hamm became a billionaire.[3][13] Continental Resources, known for its use of shale oil, was previously Oklahoma's fourth-largest public company.[14][15][16]

In 2007, Hamm was named the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year". Hamm was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2011.[17] In 2012, Time magazine named Hamm one of the "World's 100 Most Influential People."[18] Forbes featured him on its cover in May 2014, publishing the story "Harold Hamm: The Billionaire Oilman Fueling America's Recovery."[19]

Political involvement

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Shortly after being named energy advisor to Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in March 2012, Hamm donated $985,000 to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future.[20] Hamm has been described as part of the conservative donor network of the Koch brothers, Charles and David Koch.[21]

In January 2016, Hamm claimed that Saudi Arabia was unsuccessfully attempting to "flood the crude market at a time of oversupply."[22] OPEC, joined now by Russia, forming OPEC+, ceded the contest, making its first production cut since the financial crisis of 2008, in a bow to the demonstrated price resilience of U.S. shale producers.[23]

At the 2016 Republican National Convention, Hamm criticized the Obama administration's energy policies,[24] claiming that President Barack Obama was "burdening oil companies with greater regulations" so that gasoline prices would spike. Hamm also denounced the Iran nuclear deal struck by the Department of State in 2015, asserting that Iran would be more able to export petroleum and develop an atomic bomb.[25]

In the 2016 United States presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump considered appointing Hamm as energy secretary.[26]

Hamm contributed $320,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[7] Hamm criticized Trump for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, saying America needs a "clean slate."[8] However, when Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, Hamm fundraised for Trump.[8]

Hamm has been a critic of the Joe Biden administration's energy and environmental policies.[8]

In April 2024, Hamm organized an event at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort where oil industry leaders and lobbyists were invited to donate one billion dollars to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign with the expectation that environmental protections would be curtailed should Trump be re-elected.[27]

Involvement in education

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The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma was named after Hamm, who has type 2 diabetes.[28] To create the center, the Harold and Sue Ann Hamm Foundation donated $10 million.[12] Hamm is a member of the Global Leadership Council at the Offutt School of Business of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.[29]

Hamm and Continental Resources donated $10 million to the University of North Dakota's College of Engineering and Mines to create the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering. This was believed to be the largest gift given to the Grand Forks, North Dakota university by a non-alumnus.[30]

On February 1, 2022, the Harold Hamm Foundation and Continental Resources announced a $12 million gift to the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, to establish the Hamm School of Engineering and endow a "Continental Resources | Monsignor James Shea Chair of Engineering" at the private, Catholic university. It is believed to be the largest philanthropic single gift given to education in the region of western North Dakota and eastern Montana, the footprint of the Bakken formation.[31]

Personal life

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Hamm's first wife was Judith Ann; they had three children. They divorced in 1987.[9][32]

In April 1988, Hamm married Sue Ann Arnall, with whom he had two children, Jane and Hilary.[9] Sue Ann is an economist and lawyer,[33] and has been an executive at Continental Resources. She filed for divorce on May 19, 2012,[9][34] but Hamm said that he separated from her in 2005.[9] Several media outlets reported that up to half of Hamm's estimated $20 billion fortune could be transferred to his wife, which would become a world record for most money transferred in a divorce.[35] While a judge ruled that his ex-wife would receive $1 billion, she rejected the settlement, seeking a greater sum.[36] According to CNBC, Arnall deposited a US$974,790,317.77[36] settlement check in 2015 (equivalent to $1,253,008,584.8 in 2023).[37]

Hamm lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,[4] and owns homes in Enid and Nichols Hills, both in Oklahoma.[9][38]

Hamm has honorary degrees from the University of Mary, Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma.[28] He also received an honorary degree from the University of North Dakota.[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Harold Hamm, Chairman" (PDF). Document Repository. United States House of Representatives.
  2. ^ "How Fracking Funds the Radical Right". The New Republic. 2016. ISSN 0028-6583.
  3. ^ a b Zuckerman, Gregory (2013). The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters. Portfolio Penguin. ISBN 978-1-59184-645-1.[page needed]
  4. ^ a b "#63 Harold Hamm & family". Forbes. February 4, 2022. ISSN 0015-6914. OCLC 1088420850. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022. Residence: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  5. ^ Carroll, Joe (March 1, 2012). "Romney Names Oklahoma Oil Billionaire Hamm as Energy Adviser". Bloomberg.
  6. ^ Cama, Timothy (October 16, 2023). "Harold Hamm gives to Trump after avoiding him". E&E News by POLITICO.
  7. ^ a b "Here Are The Billionaires Who Donated To Donald Trump's 2020 Presidential Campaign". Forbes. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Dawsey, Josh; Joselow, Maxine (May 9, 2024). "What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Grow, Brian; Schneyer, Joshua (March 21, 2013). "Looming divorce could threaten oil baron's empire". Reuters. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  10. ^ "Obituaries". The Purcell Register. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  11. ^ "Harold Hamm: Executive Profile & Biography[dead link‍]", Business Week
  12. ^ a b "Harold Hamm Biography Archived August 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", 2010 New Horizons in Oil & Gas Conference
  13. ^ Hamm, Harold (October 1, 2011). "How North Dakota Became Saudi Arabia". The Wall Street Journal (Interview). Interviewed by Stephen Moore.
  14. ^ Allen, Cindy (March 26, 2011). "This is not a drill". The Enid News & Eagle.
  15. ^ Vardi, Nathan (February 2, 2009). "The Last American Wildcatter". Forbes.
  16. ^ Casteel, Chris. "Harold Hamm takes Continental Resources private". The Oklahoman.
  17. ^ Neal, James (November 12, 2011). "Harold Hamm selected to Oklahoma Hall of Fame". The Enid News & Eagle.
  18. ^ "The World's 100 Most Influential People: 2012". Time. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  19. ^ Helman, Christopher (May 5, 2014). "Harold Hamm: The Billionaire Oilman Fueling America's Recovery". Forbes.
  20. ^ Braun, Stephen (May 23, 2012). "Harold Hamm, Romney Oil Adviser, Also A Big Donor To Super PAC Restore Our Future". Huffington Post. Washington, DC. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  21. ^ Mayer, Jane (2017). "Introduction. The Investors". Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday. p. 16.
  22. ^ Baldwin, Shawn (January 13, 2016). "Shawn Baldwin with Harold Hamm Forbes #24". Fast Company. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  23. ^ Egan, Matt (December 1, 2016). "OPEC raises the white flag in battle with U.S." CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  24. ^ Panzar, Javier (July 20, 2016). "Republican National Convention 2016 Days 1 through 3: Potential Trump Cabinet pick Harold Hamm makes convention debut". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  25. ^ Hamm, Harold (July 21, 2016). Full speech, day 3 (Speech). 2016 Republican National Convention. Cleveland, Ohio. Retrieved December 11, 2016 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ Conlin, Michelle (July 21, 2016). "Exclusive: Trump considering fracking mogul Harold Hamm as energy secretary – sources". Reuters. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  27. ^ Friedman, Lisa; Davenport, Coral; Swan, Jonathan; Haberman, Maggie (May 9, 2024). "At a Dinner, Trump Assailed Climate Rules and Asked $1 Billion From Big Oil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Harold Hamm: The Business of Benevolence". Distinctly Oklahoma. November 2010.
  29. ^ "Global Leadership Council". Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  30. ^ "Billionaire backs new geology school to bear his name". Grand Forks Herald. September 24, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  31. ^ "The gift establishes the Hamm School of Engineering and The Continental Resources - Monsignor James Shea Chair of Engineering". UMary News. February 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  32. ^ Zuckerman, Gregory (September 24, 2012). "Harold Hamm Makes Big Gift to University of North Dakota". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. OCLC 781541372. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  33. ^ O'Conner, Clare (March 23, 2013). "Oil Billionaire Harold Hamm's Divorce Could Be World's Most Expensive At Over $5 Billion". Forbes. ISSN 0015-6914. OCLC 1088420850. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022. His second wife, lawyer and economist Sue Ann Hamm, filed for divorce last year; she has since alleged that Harold was cheating on her, per Reuters' reporting.
  34. ^ Frank, Robert (March 22, 2013). "Will the Hamms' Divorce Pressure Continental's Stock". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  35. ^ Hargreaves, Steve (August 12, 2014). "Oil tycoon could face biggest divorce judgment ever". CNNMoney. CNN.
  36. ^ a b Ailworth, Erin (January 7, 2015). "Harold Hamm's Ex-Wife Rejects $975 Million Divorce Settlement Check". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. OCLC 781541372. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2022. An Oklahoma judge ordered Mr. Hamm, the chief executive of Continental Resources Inc., to pay his former wife, Sue Ann Arnall, nearly $1 billion to settle the couple's contentious 2 ½ year divorce. But on Monday, she rejected the check, lawyers for Mr. Hamm and Ms. Arnall confirmed Tuesday.
  37. ^ Cordova, Elisabeth Butler (January 8, 2015). "Harold Hamm's ex cashes the big check after all". CNBC. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2022. Cha-ching! That's the sound of a massive check hitting Sue Ann Arnall's bank account. She has just cashed a personal check for $974.8 million, written by one Harold Hamm, her billionaire ex-husband and chief executive of oil driller Continental Resources, Michael Burrage, Hamm's attorney, told CNBC.
  38. ^ Staff writer (March 21, 2013). "Continental CEO Hamm, wife Sue Ann are divorcing". Enid News & Eagle. OCLC 32180212. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  39. ^ "UND to give honorary degrees to Heitkamp, Hamm". Grand Forks Herald. March 29, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
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