Harold Hamm

Harold Hamm
Born Harold Glenn Hamm
(1945-12-11) December 11, 1945
Lexington, Oklahoma, U.S.
Net worth Increase US$10.3 billion (May 2016)[1]
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Judith (Divorced 1987)
Sue Arnall
Children 5 (3 with Judith and 2 with Sue)
The Continental Towers in Enid, Oklahoma.

Harold Glenn Hamm[2] (born December 11, 1945) is an American entrepreneur primarily involved in the oil and gas business who is best known for pioneering the development of the large shale oil resources of the Bakken formation.[3] On January 16, 2015 Hamm was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 48th richest person in United States and 132nd richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $9.3 billion, which decreased from $18.7 billion in September 2014. In 2012, presidential candidate Mitt Romney named Hamm as his energy advisor[4] and thereafter Hamm made substantial monetary and advisory contributions to the election effort.

Early life and education

Hamm was born in Lexington, Oklahoma, the 13th and youngest child of Oklahoma cotton sharecroppers Leland Albert Hamm and Jane Elizabeth Hamm (née, Sparks).[5][6] A graduate of Enid High School, his highest level of education is his high school diploma.[7][8][9]

Career

Hamm is a key player in Hiland Partners and Hiland Holdings[10] as well as the shale oil-exploration company Continental Resources, Oklahoma's fourth largest public company.[11][12] Continental Resources moved from the Continental Towers in Enid, Oklahoma, to Oklahoma City in 2012. Hamm was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2011.[13]

Hamm worked his way up from pumping gas and repairing cars[7] to becoming CEO of his own billion-dollar company. He has been the CEO of Continental Resources since 1967,[14] when the company was called Shelly Dean Oil Company.[15] Hamm and Continental Resources pioneered the development of the Bakken Oil Field in Montana and North Dakota using both horizontal drilled wells and Hydraulic fracturing. He became a billionaire and Continental Resources became a major oil producer.[3][16] Hamm was given honorary degrees from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma.[17]

The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma was named after Hamm, who has type 2 diabetes.[17] The Harold and Sue Ann Hamm Foundation donated 10 million dollars to create the center.[15]

Hamm is a member of the Global Leadership Council at Concordia College, Moorhead, Offutt School of Business.[18]

Hamm appeared on the cover of Forbes in May 2014 in a story entitled "Harold Hamm: The Billionaire Oilman Fueling America's Recovery".[19]

In January 2016, Hamm stated that Saudi Arabia's attempt to flood the crude market at a time of oversupply and concerns about weakening demand is not working, believing that oil prices will double by year-end 2016, as Shawn Baldwin, Chairman of alternative investment firm The AIA Group, concurred with these statements. [20]

Political involvement

Shortly after being named energy advisor to the Romney campaign in March 2012, Hamm donated $985,000 to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future.[21] On the eve of the convention, Hamm was credited in a report with being among oil and energy executives consulted in a plan to devolve permitting on Federal lands to the state where the land is located. Romney's proposal, which was launched the same week as two industry fundraisers netted $10 million for the campaign, was seen as going beyond roots in the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the sometimes controversial permitting policies of the George W. Bush administration in the 2000s.[22]

Seeking to dismiss quake scientists

On May 15, 2015, Bloomberg reported that Hamm told Larry Grillot (the dean of the University of Oklahoma Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy) that he wanted certain earthquake researchers from the university dismissed.[23] The scientists were involved in studying connections between oil and gas activity and the increase in the earthquake activities in the state.

Personal life

Hamm divorced his first wife, Judith Ann, in 1987. They had three children together.[5][24]

In April 1988, Hamm married Sue Ann Hamm (née Arnall) with whom he has two grown daughters, Jane and Hillary.[5] Sue Ann is an economist and lawyer.[25] She has had executive roles at Continental Resources. She filed for divorce on May 19, 2012,[5][26] while Harold has said that he separated from Sue Ann in 2005.[5] In 2014 Forbes reported that a ruling would allow the bulk of his ownership interest in Continental—and hence his net worth—to continue intact after the divorce.[19] However, in August 2014, CNN and several other media outlets reported that Hamm could face a world record divorce settlement, with up to half of his estimated $20 billion fortune potentially being on the line.[27][28] On November 10, 2014, an Oklahoma County judge found that Hamm should pay his second wife $995.5 million. According to an article published on January 7, 2015 by the Wall Street Journal, "She rejected a divorce settlement check in the amount of $974,790,317.77, stating it would jeopardize her appeal with Mr. Hamm." [29] On January 8, 2015, CNBC reported that Sue Ann Arnall had cashed the $975 million settlement check.[30]

Hamm lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[31] He owns homes in Enid, Oklahoma and Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, among other places.[5][32][33]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/profile/harold-hamm/?list=rtb
  2. ↑ http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA00/20140326/101956/HHRG-113-FA00-Bio-HammH-20140326.pdf
  3. 1 2 Gregory Zuckerman, The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters 2013, Portfolio Penguin. ISBN 9781591846451
  4. ↑ Carroll, Joe (March 1, 2012). "Romney Names Oklahoma Oil Billionaire Hamm as Energy Adviser". Bloomberg.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grow, Brian, and Joshua Schneyer, "Looming divorce could threaten oil baron's empire", Reuters, March 21, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Obituaries". The Purcell Register.
  7. 1 2 Reiger, Andy, "Hamm to receive honorary degrees", The Enid News & Eagle, May 11, 2009
  8. ↑ Harold Hamm Forbes, October 2010.
  9. ↑ house.gov PDF
  10. ↑ "Hiland Partners". HilandPartners.com. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  11. ↑ Allen, Cindy, "This is not a drill", The Enid News & Eagle, March 26, 2011
  12. ↑ Vardi, Nathan (February 2, 2009). "The Last American Wildcatter". Forbes.
  13. ↑ "Harold Hamm selected to Oklahoma Hall of Fame", The Enid News & Eagle, November 12, 2011
  14. ↑ "Harold Hamm: Executive Profile & Biography", Business Week
  15. 1 2 "Harold Hamm Biography", 2010 New Horizons in Oil & Gas Conference
  16. ↑ "How North Dakota Became Saudi Arabia", interview of Harold Hamm, The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 1, 2011
  17. 1 2 "Harold Hamm: The Business of Benevolence", Distinctly Oklahoma, November 2010
  18. ↑ "Global Leadership Council". Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  19. 1 2 Helman, Christopher (May 5, 2014). "Harold Hamm: The Billionaire Oilman Fueling America's Recovery". Forbes.
  20. ↑ "Shawn Baldwin Discusses Why Oil Will Hit $60-$65 with Harold Hamm". Fast Company. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  21. ↑ "Top Romney Adviser Also Gives Big To Super PAC". Huffington Post. May 23, 2012.
  22. ↑ Lipton, Eric, and Clifford Krauss, "Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling", The New York Times, August 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  23. ↑ Benjamin Elgin (with Matthew Philips), "Oil CEO Wanted University Quake Scientists Dismissed: Dean's E-Mail", BloombergBusiness, May 15, 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  24. ↑ "Harold Hamm Makes Big Gift to University of North Dakota", blogs.wsj.com, September 24, 2012.
  25. ↑ Forbes, March 23, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Will the Hamms' Divorce Pressure Continental's Stock", CNBC, March 22, 2013.
  27. ↑ Steve Hargreaves (12 August 2014). "Oil tycoon could face biggest divorce judgment ever". CNNMoney.
  28. ↑ "The Wealthy, Prenuptial Agreements, and Large Divorce Settlements". Law Office of Steven L. Fritsch.
  29. ↑ Erin Ailworth (7 January 2015). "Harold Hamm’s Ex-Wife Rejects $975 Million Divorce Settlement Check". WSJ.
  30. ↑ "Harold Hamm's ex cashes the big check after all", CNBC, January 8, 2015.
  31. ↑ Forbes, Profile.
  32. ↑ "No Prenup Could Cost Oil Tycoon Billions in Divorce", blogs.lawyers.com, July 8, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Continental CEO Hamm, wife Sue Ann are divorcing", The Enid News & Eagle, March 21, 2013.
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