Regarding comment #4, if one believes in free market principles, then the corporate raiding in the 80’s is “part of doin’ business”, and he is by no means the only person. I believe he got his butt handed to him when he tried to aquire Phillips 66. But the great thing about this country is you can always start over and start again with unlimted upside.

Regarding his philanthropy, I believe he has given away upwards of $760 million dollars…approximately 20 -25% of his current net worth. I read somewhere that he hopes to give away at least $1 billion during his lifetime. His philanthropy includes over $265 million to Oklahoma State University both in Athletics and Academics. His investment in OSU is proving to be a transformational change in the institution. Additionally, I believe he has been the largest single contributor to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

FYI. Picken’s Hedge fund, BP Capital, has lost somewhere neart 2 Billion dollars since July.

In surveying Mr. Picken’s life and his contributions to society, I am reminded of my brother’s favorite quote:

“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” -Alexander Solzhenitsyn

http://www.alt-energy.info/archives/523

IT. Boone Pickens thinking big when it comes to wind
By MB-BigB | April 13, 2008

In order to get the turbines built, he’s signed up alot of ranchers and farmers – they get between $10,000 and $20,000 in annual royalties for each turbine they allow on their land. So far, almost everyone has signed up – except for Mr. Pickens himself who says of wind turbines, “They are ugly!”. So no turbines are going on the Pickens ranch.

Pickens could very well be doing this to profit from it, he could be doing it because some as they age start to think about what kind of a mark do they want to leave on society after they are gone. It could be a combination of both. The motivation can not be ignored but the ideas he presents can be examined minus the motivation.

We as a nation do need to focus on alternative energy – wind power is increasingly being used with success in not just our nation but the world, the same can be said for solar power. As to the natural gas powered vehicles? My main concern related to that would be to ensure that it would not drive up the cost of natural gas since many do rely on that as a form of energy for heat and other personal uses.

His donations to that group and the quarter million dollars to the Bush/Cheney Re-election Campaign kept them in the White House for four more years. Why was that? Interestingly so that fossil fuels would continue to fuel our economy during that time period.

We all know about that clandestine meeting assembled by oil-man Cheney early in the first term during which Cheney promised to enrich the fossil fuel CEO’s by deregulation and financial and tax benefits to these corporations. Mr. Pickens benefited greatly from that 8-year rape of our nation.

I find it odd that solid Republicans like kateb do not know that much about one of the greatest ‘players’ in the Bush/Cheney gaggle of point men.

I often end political postings on my blog with the question, “Have the American citizens really learned the lessons of the importance of paying attention before they cast their votes?”

Obviously not.

In any case, he’s right.

-TB

He tried to raid the Gulf Oil Company in the mid 1980s. My father was employed in their plastics division then. Gulf ended up selling to Chevron rather than let Pickens have their assets.

Maybe he has developed a philanthropic streak since then, but in the 1980s, he put a lot of people out of work.

On July 8, 2008, Pickens announced a major energy policy proposal, called the Pickens Plan. The plan promotes “alternatives” to oil, including natural gas, wind, and solar. A major feature of the plan is replacing the 22% of its electricity that the United States gets from natural gas with wind energy, which would then allow that natural gas to provide 38% of the nation’s fuel for transportation and reduce its dependence on foreign oil. The Pickens Plan calls for the United States to utilize its wind corridor in the middle of the country stretching from Texas through the Great Plains to the Canadian border. He noted in Congressional testimony in July 2008 that his plan would generate new jobs and provide economic stimulus to this area, while noting that it would also require new transmission lines which traditionally antagonize some environmentalists and/or nearby populations.

Critics of the plan, however, point out that it is self-serving: Pickens is a huge investor in wind power, and subsidies and mandates for wind power would help his personal financial position. The announcement of the plan also coincides with Pickens’ need for federal subsidies for wind to be renewed, as he’s already begun placing orders for his planned wind farm in Texas. Pickens usually answers this criticism, “I’m 80 years old, and I’m worth $4 billion. I have plenty of money. I think it shows leadership that I’m putting my money into the wind business, and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.”

Pickens plans to spend $58 million on his multi-media effort to promote the Pickens Plan. Pickens multi-media campaign includes old media, such as newspaper and TV, and new media, such as YouTube and Facebook.

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, has expressed support for the Pickens Plan

This guy’s got an angle. He does not strike me as a philanthropist. Anybody know what his angle could be? Is he selling something?

(Save me the research time if you can….am too busy)