The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future
by: T. Boone Pickens
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With a Plan for Reducing U.S. Oil Dependency
It’s never too late to top your personal best.
Now eighty years old, T. Boone Pickens is a legendary figure in the business world. Known as the “Oracle of Oil” because of his uncanny ability to predict the direction of fuel prices, he built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the United States, from a $2,500 investment. In the 1980s, Pickens became a household name when he executed a series of unsolicited buyout bids for undervalued oil companies, in the process reinventing the notion of shareholders’ rights. Even his failures were successful in that they forced risk-averse managers to reconsider the way they did business.
When Pickens left Mesa at age sixty-eight after a spectacular downward spiral in the company’s profits, many counted him out. Indeed, what followed for him was a painful divorce, clinical depression, a temporary inability to predict the movement of energy prices, and the loss of 90 percent of his investing capital. But Pickens was far from out.
From that personal and professional nadir, Pickens staged one of the most impressive comebacks in the industry, turning his investment fund’s remaining $3 million into $8 billion in profit in just a few years. That made him, at age seventy-seven, the world’s second-highest-paid hedge fund manager. But he wasn’t done yet. Today, Pickens is making some of the world’s most colossal energy bets. If he has his way, most of America’s cars will eventually run on natural gas, and vast swaths of the nation’s prairie land will become places where wind can be harnessed for power generation. Currently no less bold than he was decades ago when he single-handedly transformed America’s oil industry, Pickens is staking billions on the conviction that he knows what’s coming. In this book, he spells out that future in detail, not only presenting a comprehensive plan for American energy independence but also providing a fascinating glimpse into key resources such as water—yet another area where he is putting billions on the line.
From a businessman who is extraordinarily humble yet is considered one of the world’s most visionary, The First Billion Is the Hardest is both a riveting account of a life spent pulling off improbable triumphs and a report back from the front of the global energy and natural-resource wars—of vital interest to anyone who has a stake in America’s future.
With a Plan for Reducing U.S. Oil Dependency
It’s never too late to top your personal best.
Now eighty years old, T. Boone Pickens is a legendary figure in the business world. Known as the “Oracle of Oil” because of his uncanny ability to predict the direction of fuel prices, he built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the United States, from a $2,500 investment. In the 1980s, Pickens became a household name when he executed a series of unsolicited buyout bids for undervalued oil companies, in the process reinventing the notion of shareholders’ rights. Even his failures were successful in that they forced risk-averse managers to reconsider the way they did business.
When Pickens left Mesa at age sixty-eight after a spectacular downward spiral in the company’s profits, many counted him out. Indeed, what followed for him was a painful divorce, clinical depression, a temporary inability to predict the movement of energy prices, and the loss of 90 percent of his investing capital. But Pickens was far from out.
From that personal and professional nadir, Pickens staged one of the most impressive comebacks in the industry, turning his investment fund’s remaining $3 million into $8 billion in profit in just a few years. That made him, at age seventy-seven, the world’s second-highest-paid hedge fund manager. But he wasn’t done yet. Today, Pickens is making some of the world’s most colossal energy bets. If he has his way, most of America’s cars will eventually run on natural gas, and vast swaths of the nation’s prairie land will become places where wind can be harnessed for power generation. Currently no less bold than he was decades ago when he single-handedly transformed America’s oil industry, Pickens is staking billions on the conviction that he knows what’s coming. In this book, he spells out that future in detail, not only presenting a comprehensive plan for American energy independence but also providing a fascinating glimpse into key resources such as water—yet another area where he is putting billions on the line.
From a businessman who is extraordinarily humble yet is considered one of the world’s most visionary, The First Billion Is the Hardest is both a riveting account of a life spent pulling off improbable triumphs and a report back from the front of the global energy and natural-resource wars—of vital interest to anyone who has a stake in America’s future.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Bottom line: 4 stars. Boone, I'll up it to five stars if you hire me.
This is several books in one. Pickens first describes the career path that made him one of the world's wealthiest people, which starts to seem a little too self-congratulatory.
Then about the time you get tired of hearing about Pickens getting rich, Pickens shifts to making the argument (paraphrasing): `as you can see, I got rich in the futures market by being one of the best in the world at predicting the forward price of fossil fuels, especially crude oil and natural gas - and don't ... Read More
Rating: 
- GB Texan
Boone Pickens has done a lot for Texas and the nation. This is just one chapter of a great billionaire that is for a GREEN Earth.
Rating: - Interesting and Educational!
Known as the "Oracle of Oil" because of his ability to predict the direction of fuel prices, Pickens built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the U.S., from a $5,000 investment by himself and two partners. At age 68, he left the company and had lost 905 of his investing capital. Since then he turned his investment funds remaining ($3 million), plus those of his partners, into $8 billion by age 77. Currently Pickens is staking billions on wind and natural gas energy - seeing ... Read More
Rating: - Energy past & future
Boone Pickens is an American business icon who has made his mark on the oil and commodities markets with Mesa and BP Capital. The book is packed with interesting insights into these industries, as well as, great business advice all around. As you read the autobiography, you cannot help but to be struck by the relentless drive and ambition of Boon Pickens - a trait you'll see in many other successful businessman (Warren Buffet, Ted Turner, etc).
The book is easy to read and written in conversational ... Read More
Rating: - Light but interesting
This light book is half bio, half energy plan.It's an interesting view of the legendary character and his ideas, though perhaps a little short to do either half justice.Certainly worth reading, even if the market has moved a lot since the writing.
- Bottom line: 4 stars. Boone, I'll up it to five stars if you hire me.This is several books in one. Pickens first describes the career path that made him one of the world's wealthiest people, which starts to seem a little too self-congratulatory.
Then about the time you get tired of hearing about Pickens getting rich, Pickens shifts to making the argument (paraphrasing): `as you can see, I got rich in the futures market by being one of the best in the world at predicting the forward price of fossil fuels, especially crude oil and natural gas - and don't ... Read More
- GB TexanBoone Pickens has done a lot for Texas and the nation. This is just one chapter of a great billionaire that is for a GREEN Earth.
- Interesting and Educational!Known as the "Oracle of Oil" because of his ability to predict the direction of fuel prices, Pickens built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the U.S., from a $5,000 investment by himself and two partners. At age 68, he left the company and had lost 905 of his investing capital. Since then he turned his investment funds remaining ($3 million), plus those of his partners, into $8 billion by age 77. Currently Pickens is staking billions on wind and natural gas energy - seeing ... Read More
- Energy past & futureBoone Pickens is an American business icon who has made his mark on the oil and commodities markets with Mesa and BP Capital. The book is packed with interesting insights into these industries, as well as, great business advice all around. As you read the autobiography, you cannot help but to be struck by the relentless drive and ambition of Boon Pickens - a trait you'll see in many other successful businessman (Warren Buffet, Ted Turner, etc).
The book is easy to read and written in conversational ... Read More
- Light but interestingThis light book is half bio, half energy plan.It's an interesting view of the legendary character and his ideas, though perhaps a little short to do either half justice.Certainly worth reading, even if the market has moved a lot since the writing.
