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T Boone dead at 91


CycleTex87

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When I started my company several years ago my business partner and I went to see an old-money guy in Houston looking for capital. Very nice guy. Very friendly. Very rich.

We gave our pitch and he said, "Why, this sounds like something Boone Pickens has been doing! Have you talked to him?"

"Well, no. We would actually be competitors with his company."

"Oh, well. Boone and I are friends. We spoke on the phone this morning. I can't talk to you anymore. I guess this meeting is over."

And we showed ourselves out. 

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1 minute ago, 'stache said:

Maybe the biggest implication of Boones death is that Mike Holder will retire soon as AD. He tried to retire a few years ago but Boone convinced him to stick around to help him raise more money. We hired Chad Weiburg as associate AD and he's probably ready for the job.

My guess is that he'll get the new wrestling facility built, then call it quits and hand it over to Weiberg.

He's been talking a lot about how important it is to him lately since the new baseball stadium is about to be done.

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6 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

1962.

I am not the oldest fart here.

Every time I walk Brushy Creek, I see an oldie and wonder if it is Army Brat. I picture him looking a little like his avatar.

 

 

I was reading about Pickens and it sounded like most of his most recent ventures lost money and he is down to near $500 million. I am friendly with a guy named Tom Lee who has owned some hedge funds and does leveraged buyouts. The Clinton's stayed at his property in the Hamptons while the Monica thing blew over. Anyway, I have met some other wealthy guys through him. It is kind of weird that everyone knows Pickens but in the world of the ultra-rich, he doesn't really stand out.

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28 minutes ago, 'stache said:

After wrestling, what's left? We have football covered, including IPF. Tennis has a new facility, as does soccer and baseball, softball is still relatively new and in good shape. Track and field? Some other olympic sport I'm  unaware of?

Well I'd say that football is the never-ending arms race. So if anything else, we'll probably start looking at whatever shiny new football shit we need.

It's not facilities, per se, but I'd venture to say that we are pretty long overdue on getting a statue of Barry Sanders somewhere in front of the stadium. I suppose a statue of Boone would also probably be in order, since he made all of this shit possible.

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This conversation really shows Boone’s true legacy. He obviously gave the most which is why the football stadium bears his name. But he convinced others to give too and the names on the other facilities represent the major donors. The IPF is named for Sherman Smith, tennis the Greenwoods, baseball Cecil O’Brate. 

We were lucky to have Boone. His dedication and efforts are as impressive as  the size of his donations. 

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On 9/11/2019 at 2:37 PM, TwiceHorn said:

RIP shitbird.

Srsly, though, for such a rich mofo, he was pretty unaffected.  I officed in same building as him for several years and he rode up the elevator just like any other schmuck and drove his older BMW850 to work.

Do rich guys usually take the stairs or what?

 

For anyone in the market for that ranch and wondering where exactly it is: https://goo.gl/maps/N1ih31sLtJ1uu8P8A

Edited by tokamak
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1 hour ago, tokamak said:

Do rich guys usually take the stairs or what?

 

For anyone in the market for that ranch and wondering where exactly it is: https://goo.gl/maps/N1ih31sLtJ1uu8P8A

I think what he’s saying is that he didn’t have his own elevator or have a security team or act like he was too good to be around the commoners. 

I worked at a public company once in downtown Houston where the executives had their own elevator going to their own opulent floor and even employees with badges were stopped from getting near their offices unless they could justify their presence there.

The biggest bunch of entitled fucktwats ever and I’m glad they fucking went bankrupt and aren’t around anymore.  (Not Enron,  but similar)

Another guy who drives himself and has his own average office among the middle managers is Rich Kinder. Same kind of guy as Boone sounds like he was. I’ve actually been in meetings with Kinder and he is as no-nonsense as described. 

Edited by crimsonlonghorn
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4 hours ago, 'stache said:

After wrestling, what's left? We have football covered, including IPF. Tennis has a new facility, as does soccer and baseball, softball is still relatively new and in good shape. Track and field? Some other olympic sport I'm  unaware of?

I feel like football is never really covered.  Once you finish you better have plans to upgrade within a few years.  Crazy arms race.  

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T. Boone left a message to be posted on his linkedIn account after his death.

Quote

The following message from T. Boone Pickens was written prior to his passing on September 11, 2019.

Mr. Pickens’ website and social media accounts are now being maintained by T. Boone Pickens Foundation team members.

If you are reading this, I have passed on from this world — not as big a deal for you as it was for me.

In my final months, I came to the sad reality that my life really did have a fourth quarter and the clock really would run out on me. I took the time to convey some thoughts that reflect back on my rich and full life.

I was able to amass 1.9 million Linkedin followers. On Twitter, more than 145,000 (thanks, Drake). This is my goodbye to each of you.

One question I was asked time and again: What is it that you will leave behind?

That’s at the heart of one of my favorite poems, "Indispensable Man," which Saxon White Kessinger wrote in 1959. Here are a few stanzas that get to the heart of the matter:

Sometime when you feel that your going

Would leave an unfillable hole,

Just follow these simple instructions

And see how they humble your soul;

Take a bucket and fill it with water,

Put your hand in it up to the wrist,

Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining

Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.

You can splash all you wish when you enter,

You may stir up the water galore,

But stop and you’ll find that in no time

It looks quite the same as before.

You be the judge of how long the bucket remembers me.

I’ve long recognized the power of effective communication. That’s why in my later years I began to reflect on the many life lessons I learned along the way, and shared them with all who would listen.

Fortunately, I found the young have a thirst for this message. Many times over the years, I was fortunate enough to speak at student commencement ceremonies, and that gave me the chance to look out into a sea of the future and share some of these thoughts with young minds. My favorite of these speeches included my grandchildren in the audience.

What I would tell them was this Depression-era baby from tiny Holdenville, Oklahoma — that wide expanse where the pavement ends, the West begins, and the Rock Island crosses the Frisco — lived a pretty good life.

In those speeches, I’d always offer these future leaders a deal: I would trade them my wealth and success, my 68,000-acre ranch and private jet, in exchange for their seat in the audience. That way, I told them, I’d get the opportunity to start over, experience every opportunity America has to offer.

It’s your shot now.

If I had to single out one piece of advice that’s guided me through life, most likely it would be from my grandmother, Nellie Molonson. She always made a point of making sure I understood that on the road to success, there’s no point in blaming others when you fail.

Here’s how she put it:

“Sonny, I don’t care who you are. Some day you’re going to have to sit on your own bottom.”

After more than half a century in the energy business, her advice has proven itself to be spot-on time and time again. My failures? I never have any doubt whom they can be traced back to. My successes? Most likely the same guy.

Never forget where you come from. I was fortunate to receive the right kind of direction, leadership, and work ethic  — first in Holdenville, then as a teen in Amarillo, Texas, and continuing in college at what became Oklahoma State University. I honored the values my family instilled in me, and was honored many times over by the success they allowed me to achieve.

I also long practiced what my mother preached to me throughout her life — be generous. Those values came into play throughout my career, but especially so as my philanthropic giving exceeded my substantial net worth in recent years.

For most of my adult life, I’ve believed that I was put on Earth to make money and be generous with it. I’ve never been a fan of inherited wealth. My family is taken care of, but I was far down this philanthropic road when, in 2010, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates asked me to take their Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world's wealthiest to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. I agreed immediately.

I liked knowing that I helped a lot of people. I received letters every day thanking me for what I did, the change I fostered in other people’s lives. Those people should know that I appreciated their letters.

My wealth was built through some key principles, including:

  • A good work ethic is critical.
  • Don’t think competition is bad, but play by the rules. I loved to compete and win. I never wanted the other guy to do badly; I just wanted to do a little better than he did.
  • Learn to analyze well. Assess the risks and the prospective rewards, and keep it simple.
  • Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader: Avoid the “Ready-aim-aim-aim-aim” syndrome. You have to be willing to fire.
  • Learn from mistakes. That’s not just a cliché. I sure made my share. Remember the doors that smashed your fingers the first time and be more careful the next trip through.
  • Be humble. I always believed the higher a monkey climbs in the tree, the more people below can see his ass. You don’t have to be that monkey.
  • Don’t look to government to solve problems — the strength of this country is in its people.
  • Stay fit. You don’t want to get old and feel bad. You’ll also get a lot more accomplished and feel better about yourself if you stay fit. I didn’t make it to 91 by neglecting my health.
  • Embrace change. Although older people are generally threatened by change, young people loved me because I embraced change rather than running from it. Change creates opportunity.
  • Have faith, both in spiritual matters and in humanity, and in yourself. That faith will see you through the dark times we all navigate.

Over the years, my staff got used to hearing me in a meeting or on the phone asking, “Whaddya got?” That’s probably what my Maker is asking me about now.

Here’s my best answer.

I left an undying love for America, and the hope it presents for all. I left a passion for entrepreneurship, and the promise it sustains. I left the belief that future generations can and will do better than my own.

Thank you. It’s time we all move on.

 

Edited by NeverMarryAStripper
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