Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens dies at 91
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—Associated Press & Petroleum News
T. Boone Pickens Jr., a brash and quotable oil tycoon, died Sept. 11. He was 91.
Pickens suffered a series of strokes in 2017 and was hospitalized that July after what he called a “Texas-sized fall.”
An only child who grew up in a small railroad town in Oklahoma, after graduating with a degree in geology Pickens joined Phillips Petroleum, where his father, T. Boone Pickens Sr., was working.
After just three years, he formed Mesa Petroleum, and built a reputation as a maverick, unafraid to compete against oil industry giants.
In the 1980s, Pickens switched from drilling for oil to plumbing for riches on Wall Street. He led bids to take over big oil companies.
“It has become cheaper to look for oil on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange than in the ground,” he said.
In 1983, Mesa made a bid for major Gulf Corp. Although it was unsuccessful, Mesa’s bid forced Gulf to accept a merger with Chevron. An investment group led by Pickens earned $760 million when the shares it bought in Mesa appreciated during the takeover.
Later in his career, Pickens championed other energy sources, including natural gas and wind power. He snagged politicians to support his “Pickens Plan,” which envisioned an armada of wind turbines across the middle of the country that could generate enough power to free up natural gas for use in vehicles.
“I’ve been an oilman all my life, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of,” he said.
Pickens couldn’t duplicate his oil riches in renewable energy. In 2009, he scrapped plans for a huge Texas wind farm and eventually his renewables business failed.
Mesa predecessor to Pioneer Natural Resources In 2007, Forbes estimated Pickens’ net worth at $3 billion. He eventually slid below $1 billion and off the magazine’s list of wealthiest Americans. In 2016, the magazine put his worth at $500 million.
Besides his business interests, Pickens made huge donations to Oklahoma State University - the football stadium bears his name, and he gave $100 million for endowed faculty positions. His foundation gave millions to other schools and charities.
Pickens lost control of debt-ridden Mesa, and his bullishness on natural gas prices turned out to be a costly mistake. Mesa eventually merged with another energy producer to become Pioneer Natural Resources, once an Alaska operator and now a major player in Texas’ Permian Basin.
After leaving Mesa, Pickens started BP Capital Management, a billion-dollar hedge fund focused on energy commodities and equities that delivered mammoth gains.
After his fall in July 2017, he wrote on LinkedIn that he was still mentally strong, but “I clearly am in the fourth quarter.”
- Associated Press & Petroleum News
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