Remember, young millionaires, you are only one loose tweet away from being put in your place by eighty-four-year-old billionaire T. Boone Pickens. Pickens is an American business magnate and financier. He also chairs the hedge fund BP Capital Management, and he was a well-known takeover operator and corporate raider during the 1980s. “T-Boone” has he is affectionately called, has also given more than $700 million dollars of his own fortune away to charity,of which nearly $500 million has been donated to Oklahoma State University because he is such a huge sports fan! Pickens is among the billionaires who have made The Giving Pledge, a commitment to give away half of his wealth for charitable purposes.
Just ask Canadian actor and rapper Drake (Net worth: $16M), who last week reminded his more than seven million followers that making the first million is the hardest. Who knows, perhaps he has even made some of that fortune by utilizing the opportunity of making wagers and Sports Betting online, for making wagers on various events or entertainment propositions. It is one way that he can increase or supplement his revenue streams.
Continuing on, T. Boone (Net worth: $1.4B), the 328th richest person in the world according to Forbes, wasn’t having any of that. He didn’t think that Drake truly earned it, and to his credit, Drake was humbled. I mean, who can take criticism so lightly and just laugh it off? Especially for a pop culture icon like Drake, who is usually the one “stuntin” on others instead of getting stunted on himself:
Now, with that issue resolved, Mr. Pickens can go back to saving the global economy. Hey, at least Mr. Pickens is really good at something, and even if that something isn’t betting on College Football Games. But that is ok, because he has amassed a fortune and it’s always fun to have some expense on behalf of someone like Drake, who couldn’t hold a candle to the accomplishments and fortune that T-Boone has accomplished in his long life-time.
From the highly respectable profile on Forbes.com, here is a little insight into what Mr. Pickens has accomplished so far in his lifetime and a way to get to know the man he is. His charitable giving is very highly lauded amongst his peers as well:
“Best known as a corporate raider for his runs at Gulf Oil, Unocal, Pioneer and others in the 1980s, in recent years T. Boone Pickens has focused on managing Dallas-based hedge funds and pushing his Pickens Plan to boost adoption of wind, solar, and especially natural gas. Plunging natural gas prices shelved a plan to build the world’s largest wind farm in Texas. Instead he’s pushing for a future of natural gas-powered vehicles. He got his start at Phillips Petroleum, then founded Mesa Petroleum in 1956. He led the Swift Boat attacks against John Kerry in 2004. In 2006 he donated $165 million to athletics program at alma mater Oklahoma State University. In 2008 he donated $100 million more to OSU academics. Divorcing from fourth wife Madeleine, but pre-nup will protect his assets.”
