Harold Hamm

Harold Hamm
Hamm in 2012
Born	Harold Glenn Hamm (1945-12-11) December 11, 1945 Lexington, Oklahoma, U.S.
Net worth	US$11.3 billion (June 2016)[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Judith (Divorced 1987) Sue Arnall
Children	5

The Continental Towers in Enid, Oklahoma

Harold Glenn Hamm^[2] (born December 11, 1945) is an American entrepreneur primarily involved in the oil and gas business who is best known for pioneering the development of the large shale oil resources of the Bakken formation.^[3] On June 24, 2016, Hamm was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 39th richest person in United States and 98th richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $11.3 billion. Hamm's net worth peaked at $18.7 billion in September 2014, but decreased to $9.3 billion by 2015. In 2012, presidential candidate Mitt Romney named Hamm as his energy advisor^[4] and thereafter Hamm made substantial monetary and advisory contributions to the election effort.

Early life

Hamm was born in Lexington, Oklahoma, the 13th and youngest child of Oklahoma cotton sharecroppers, Jane Elizabeth (née Sparks) and Leland Albert Hamm.^[5][6]

Career

Hamm is a key player in Hiland Partners and Hiland Holdings^[7] as well as the shale oil-exploration company Continental Resources, Oklahoma's fourth largest public company.^[8][9] Continental Resources moved from the Continental Towers in Enid, Oklahoma, to Oklahoma City in 2012. Hamm was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2011.^[10]

Hamm worked his way up from pumping gas and repairing cars^[11] to becoming CEO of his own billion-dollar company. He has been the CEO of Continental Resources since 1967,^[12] when the company was called Shelly Dean Oil Company.^[13] Hamm and Continental Resources pioneered the development of the Bakken Oil Field in Montana and North Dakota using both horizontal drilled wells and Hydraulic fracturing. He became a billionaire and Continental Resources became a major oil producer.^[3][14] Hamm was given honorary degrees from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma.^[15]

The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma was named after Hamm, who has type 2 diabetes.^[15] The Harold and Sue Ann Hamm Foundation donated 10 million dollars to create the center.^[13]

Hamm is a member of the Global Leadership Council at Concordia College, Moorhead, Offutt School of Business.^[16]

Hamm appeared on the cover of Forbes in May 2014 in a story entitled "Harold Hamm: The Billionaire Oilman Fueling America's Recovery".^[17]

In January 2016, Hamm stated that Saudi Arabia's attempt to flood the crude market at a time of oversupply and concerns about weakening demand is not working, believing that oil prices will double by year-end 2016, as Shawn Baldwin, Chairman of alternative investment firm The AIA Group, concurred with these statements. ^[18]

Political involvement

Shortly after being named energy advisor to the Romney campaign in March 2012, Hamm donated $985,000 to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future.^[19] On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Hamm was credited in a report with being among oil and energy executives consulted in a plan to devolve permitting on Federal lands to the state where the land is located. Romney's proposal, which was launched the same week as two industry fundraisers netted $10 million for the campaign, was seen as going beyond roots in the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the sometimes controversial permitting policies of the George W. Bush Administration in the 2000s.^[20] In July 2016, it was revealed that Donald Trump was considering Harold Hamm for energy secretary in his administration.^[21]

Seeking to dismiss quake scientists

On May 15, 2015, Bloomberg reported that Hamm told Larry Grillot (the dean of the University of Oklahoma Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy) that he wanted certain earthquake researchers from the university dismissed.^[22] The scientists were involved in studying connections between oil and gas activity and the increase in the earthquake activities in the state.

Personal life

Hamm divorced his first wife, Judith Ann, in 1987. They had three children together.^[5][23]

In April 1988, Hamm married Sue Ann Hamm (née Arnall) with whom he has two grown daughters, Jane and Hillary.^[5] Sue Ann is an economist and lawyer.^[24] She has had executive roles at Continental Resources. She filed for divorce on May 19, 2012,^[5][25] while Harold has said that he separated from Sue Ann in 2005.^[5] In 2014 Forbes reported that a ruling would allow the bulk of his ownership interest in Continental—and hence his net worth—to continue intact after the divorce.^[17] However, in August 2014, CNN and several other media outlets reported that Hamm could face a world record divorce settlement, with up to half of his estimated $20 billion fortune potentially being on the line.^[26][27] On November 10, 2014, an Oklahoma County judge found that Hamm should pay his second wife $995.5 million. According to an article published on January 7, 2015 by the Wall Street Journal, "She rejected a divorce settlement check in the amount of $974,790,317.77, stating it would jeopardize her appeal with Mr. Hamm." ^[28] On January 8, 2015, CNBC reported that Sue Ann Arnall had deposited the $975 million settlement check.^[29]

Hamm lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.^[30] He owns homes in Enid, Oklahoma and Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, among other places.^[5][31][32]

References