What is T. Boone Pickens’ Net Worth?


Introduction

T. Boone Pickens, an American business magnate was also a financier.

Pickens was the chairman of the hedge fund BP Capital Management. Pickens was well-known as a corporate raider and takeover operator in the 1980s. Pickens’ net worth was $500 million in 2016.

T. Boone Pickens’ net worth is approximately $950 million as of June 2022.

Early Life

Thomas Boone Pickens was an Oklahoma native who was born on 22 May 1929. His father was an oil and mineral landman. He was the first Caesarean section-born child in history. His great-great-grandfather was politician Ezekiel Pickens. He began delivering newspapers at the age of 12.

He later mentioned his boyhood job as an example of how to “expand quickly by acquisition.”

Career

Mesa was one of the most important independent oil companies in 1981. Pickens was responsible for the company’s first major acquisition: the takeover of Hugoton Production Company. This Hugoton Production Company was 30 times larger than Mesa.

Some of his most prominent deals were the attempted buyouts by Cities Service, Gulf Oil, and Phillips Petroleum. He was also responsible for two Mesa acquisitions of Pioneer Petroleum, and mid-continent assets from Tenneco.

Pickens was the Chair of the Board of Regents of West Texas State University. Pickens also led a campaign against the Amarillo Globe-News newspaper in the 1980s.

He founded BP Capital Management in 1997. He earned $990 million in equity from the two funds and $120 million from his share from the 20% fees that were applied to fund profits.

Pickens was awarded the Franklin Institute “Bower” Award for Business Leadership in 2009 in recognition of 50 years of visionary leadership in oil production.

How Did T. Boone Pickens Spend His Money

T. Boone Pickens used his money for private jets and charity work.

He sold his Gulfstream 550 Private Jet in 2018 and put his Texas ranch of 68,000 acres up for sale for $250M.

Pickens donated more than $1 billion in charitable donations to various charities. Half of this went to Oklahoma State University. His donations to Oklahoma State total $625 million as of the time this article was written.

Highlights

These are the top highlights of T.Boone Pickens’ career:

  • Chaired the hedge fund BP Capital Managemen
  • First Billion is the Hardest (Autobiography, 2008) 

Three Motivational Lessons From T. Boone Pickens

We now know everything about T.Boone Pickens and his success story. Let’s look at some lessons we can learn.

1. Working hours

You should work eight hours and then sleep eight hours.

2. The highest level

You want to be competitive and compete at the highest level.

3. Oil

It’s difficult to get oil from a non-operating refinery.

Favorite Quotes From T. Boone Pickens

You must be able to take decisions. This is the most important quality of a leader. Don’t fall victim to what I call the ‘ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.’ You must be willing to fire.

Stock buybacks are not something I like. If a company has enough money to buy back its stock, it should do so and increase the dividends. It should be returned to the stockholder. Allow them to invest the dividends again.

Keep it casual. Talking is the best way to conduct business. Writing is great for keeping track of details and recording information, but talking generates ideas. Our luncheon meetings are great for sharing ideas and good food. There are no martinis.