Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. -- entrepreneur, financier, oil-mogul, billionaire, and philanthropist -- wears many different hats.
His blueprint for America to reduce foreign oil dependence and utilize natural resources—aka the Pickens Plan—has been his biggest project as he continues to advocate change in America; you’ve likely seen him making the rounds on the talk-show circuit and Pickens Plan TV ads. His insistance to envolve the current energy model beyond what made him rich doesn't make him selfless, it makes him smart about the growing need for alternative energy sources.
Ranked in the Forbes 400 as the 131st richest man in America at an estimated net worth of 3.1 billion, Pickens is, naturally, a well-known philanthropist. In the past 3 years, he has given over $500 million in charitable contributions with a notable $165 million going to the athletic program at OSU, his alma mater.
We have no doubt that Pickens deserves his title as one of the most influential people of the century. Just as he does with America here, we will “call it like we see it” and say that Pickens legacy will continue to captivate Americans and North Texans alike.
