H. L. Hunt
Encyclopedia
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. (February 17, 1889 — November 29, 1974), known throughout his life as "H. L. Hunt," was a Texas oil
tycoon and conservative activist. He built one of the world's largest fortunes by trading poker winnings for oil rights, ultimately securing title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's very largest. Reputedly the wealthiest person in the world at the time of his death, his many children by three wives inspired the television series Dallas.
, in Carson Township
, Fayette County, Illinois
, the youngest of eight children. He was named after his father, Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, who was a prosperous farmer-entrepreneur; his mother was Ella Rose (Myers) Hunt.
He was educated at home, and as a teenager traveled to various places before settling in Arkansas
, where he was running a cotton plantation by 1912. He had a reputation as a gambler. He ended up making his fortune in the oil business. In 1957 Fortune
estimated that he had a fortune of between US
$400 million and US $700 million, and was one of the eight richest people
in the United States.
Hunt married three times, and had fourteen children. His first wife was Lyda Bunker (died 1955), whom he married in Arkansas
on November 26, 1914. They had six children, the best-known of whom are Bunker
, Lamar
and Herbert Hunt. In 1925, Hunt ("HL") married Frania Tye (who was unaware of HL's other wives) in Florida, and they had four children, including Hugh Hunt. When Frania learned of HL's other wives, they divorced in 1942. Hunt then had four more children with his mistress, a Hunt Oil Company secretary named Ruth Ray, whom he married in 1957.
Hunt died, aged 85, in Dallas, Texas
. He was buried there in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
tycoon and conservative activist. He built one of the world's largest fortunes by trading poker winnings for oil rights, ultimately securing title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's very largest. Reputedly the wealthiest person in the world at the time of his death, his many children by three wives inspired the television series Dallas.
Life
Hunt was born near RamseyRamsey, Illinois
Ramsey is a village in Fayette County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,056 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ramsey is located at...
, in Carson Township
Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois
Carson Township is one of twenty townships in Fayette County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 148. This township was formed from Bowling Green Township.-Geography:...
, Fayette County, Illinois
Fayette County, Illinois
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,140, which is an increase of 1.6% from 21,802 in 2000. Its county seat is Vandalia...
, the youngest of eight children. He was named after his father, Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, who was a prosperous farmer-entrepreneur; his mother was Ella Rose (Myers) Hunt.
He was educated at home, and as a teenager traveled to various places before settling in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, where he was running a cotton plantation by 1912. He had a reputation as a gambler. He ended up making his fortune in the oil business. In 1957 Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
estimated that he had a fortune of between US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$400 million and US $700 million, and was one of the eight richest people
Wealthiest Americans (1957)
In 1957 Fortune magazine developed a list of the seventy-six wealthiest Americans; the list was republished in many American newspapers. The primary source of wealth was indicated as being inherited or stemming from a particular business or industry...
in the United States.
Hunt married three times, and had fourteen children. His first wife was Lyda Bunker (died 1955), whom he married in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
on November 26, 1914. They had six children, the best-known of whom are Bunker
Nelson Bunker Hunt
Nelson Bunker Hunt is an American oil company executive. He is best known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brother William Herbert Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver. He is also a successful thoroughbred horse breeder.-Personal:Hunt was born...
, Lamar
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
and Herbert Hunt. In 1925, Hunt ("HL") married Frania Tye (who was unaware of HL's other wives) in Florida, and they had four children, including Hugh Hunt. When Frania learned of HL's other wives, they divorced in 1942. Hunt then had four more children with his mistress, a Hunt Oil Company secretary named Ruth Ray, whom he married in 1957.
Hunt died, aged 85, in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. He was buried there in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 7405 West Northwest Highway in north Dallas, Texas . Among the notable persons interred here are:*Sawnie Robertson Aldredge , mayor of Dallas, Texas...
.
Family
Hunt had three families and 14 children:- Margaret Hunt Hill (October 19, 1915–June 14, 2007): philanthropistPhilanthropyPhilanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and co-owner of Hunt Petroleum. - H. L. "Hassie" Hunt III (November 23, 1917–April 20, 2005): diagnosed with schizophreniaSchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
in the early 1940s; co-owner of Hunt PetroleumHunt PetroleumHunt Petroleum Corporation was an oil and gas exploration and production company formed in 1950. The company was originally called Petrol Production Co. and was later renamed Hunt Petroleum Corporation. The company was a Delaware corporation owned 52.84% by the Margaret Hunt Trust Estate and...
. - Caroline Rose Hunt (born January 8, 1923): Founder and Honorary Chairman of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts which operates The Mansion on Turtle CreekThe Mansion on Turtle CreekThe Mansion on Turtle Creek is a highly regarded restaurant located in the Turtle Creek neighborhood in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas , within the hotel Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. The menu is primarily New American cuisine, and both the menu and prices are upscale.- External links :*...
. - Nelson Bunker HuntNelson Bunker HuntNelson Bunker Hunt is an American oil company executive. He is best known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brother William Herbert Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver. He is also a successful thoroughbred horse breeder.-Personal:Hunt was born...
(born February 22, 1926): A major force in developing LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n oil fields. Eventually attempted to corner the world marketCornering the marketIn finance, to corner the market is to get sufficient control of a particular stock, commodity, or other asset to allow the price to be manipulated. Another definition: "To have the greatest market share in a particular industry without having a monopoly...
in silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
in 1979, and was convicted of conspiring to manipulate the market. Legendary owner-breeder of ThoroughbredThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses. - Howard Lee Hunt (October 25, 1926–October 13, 1975)
- Haroldina Franch Hunt (October 26, 1928–November 10, 1995)
- William Herbert Hunt (born c. 1929) A major and defining force in the oil industry, he was also a legendary businessman and oilman. At times, ran Hunt Oil, Hunt Petroleum, Hunt Energy, Placid Oil, etc. The founder of Petro-Hunt LLC.
- Helen Lee Cartledge Hunt (October 28, 1930–June 3, 1962)
- Lamar HuntLamar HuntLamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
(August 2, 1932–December 13, 2006): co-founder of the American Football LeagueAmerican Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and the North American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
; owner of the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
of the National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
; owner of the Columbus CrewColumbus CrewThe Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
and FC DallasFC DallasFC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
of Major League SoccerMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
; impetus behind 1966 AFL-NFL merger, coined the name "Super BowlSuper BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
". - Hugh S. Hunt (October 14, 1934–November 12, 2002): lived in Potomac, MarylandPotomac, MarylandPotomac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. The population was 44,822 at the 2000 census. The Potomac area is known for its very affluent and highly-educated residents. In 2009 CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the fourth...
, founder of Constructivist Foundation. - Ray Lee HuntRay Lee HuntRay Lee Hunt inherited most of father H.L. Hunt's Hunt Oil Co. along with his three sisters. In 1982, Forbes magazine estimated Ray Hunt's family's total net worth to be $200 million. Ray made a huge oil find in Yemen in 1984. It took two years for Hunt, partnering with other companies, to lay a...
(born c. 1943): chairman of Hunt Oil. - June HuntJune HuntJune Hunt is CEO and CSO of Hope For The Heart, the nonprofit ministry she founded in 1986...
(born c. 1944): host of a daily religious radio show, Hope for the Heart. - Helen LaKelly HuntHelen LaKelly HuntHelen LaKelly Hunt is a daughter of H. L. Hunt. She is founder and president of The Sister Fund, which describes itself as "a private women's fund dedicated to the social, political, economic, and spiritual empowerment of women and girls."...
(born c. 1949): a pastoral counselor in Dallas; co-manager of the Hunt Alternatives FundHunt Alternatives FundHunt Alternatives Fund is a private family foundation located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded by sisters Swanee Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt in 1981, the Fund has contributed more than $80 million to social change worldwide....
, one of the family's charitable arms. - Swanee HuntSwanee HuntSwanee Grace Hunt , Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, is the founding director of the at the Kennedy School, and former United States Ambassador to Austria....
(born May 1, 1950): former U.S. ambassador to AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; now head of the Women and Public Policy Program at the John F. Kennedy School of GovernmentJohn F. Kennedy School of GovernmentThe John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
in CambridgeCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and president of Hunt Alternatives FundHunt Alternatives FundHunt Alternatives Fund is a private family foundation located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded by sisters Swanee Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt in 1981, the Fund has contributed more than $80 million to social change worldwide....
.
See also
- List of wealthiest historical figures
- Walter L. BuengerWalter L. BuengerWalter Louis Buenger is an historian of Texas and the American South and, since 2003, the head of the department of history at Texas A&M University in College Station.-Background:...
, historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
at Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in 1994 wrote the Hunt biography in Dictionary of American BiographyDictionary of American BiographyThe Dictionary of American Biography was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. The first edition was published in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936. These 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies...
.
Further reading
- Hendershot, Heather. What's Fair on the Air? Cold War Right-Wing Broadcasting and the Public Interest (University of Chicago Press; 2011) 260 pages; covers the rise and fall of prominent far-right radio hosts: H.L. Hunt, Dan Smoot, Carl McIntire, and Billy James Hargis.
External links
- Hunt Oil
- HL's Grave
- H.L. Hunt's Boys and the Circle K Cowboys
- Hunt Heirs fight over Estate
- Biography of H. L. Hunt by Jerrell Dean Palmer in the Handbook of Texas Online
- A Matter of Trust by Gretel C. Kovach for D Magazine