Aubrey Kerr McClendon was born on the 14th July 1959, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA, and was a businessman best known as the founder and CEO of the natural gas and oil company American Energy Partners, LP, as well as co-founder, chairman and CEO of another natural gas company, Chesapeake Energy. McClendon was also known as an advocate for natural gas. He had been active in the oil industry from 1983 until his passing in 2016.
How rich was the businessman? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the overall size of Aubrey McClendon’s net worth was as much as $500 million, as of the data converted to the present day. It is worth saying that his assets among others included part ownership of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team that plays in the NBA, as well as a wine collection which exceed 100,000 bottles.
Aubrey Mcclendon Net Worth $500 Million
To begin with, Aubrey was raised in Belle Isle, and was educated at Belle Isle Elementary School, Heritage Hall Middle and Upper School. In 1981, he graduated from Duke University with a BA degree in History. Afterwards, he worked as an accountant, and was then employed as a landsman with Jaytex Oil and Gas. In 1982, he left the company with a view to start his own business.
Concerning his career in the natural gas business, McClendon entered it with his partner Tom L. Ward in 1983. In 1989, they co-founded the corporation called Chesapeake Energy, owning two wells located in Garvin County, Oklahoma. Aubrey took the positions of CEO and chairman, whereas his partner held the positions of the president and chief financial officer. From 1994 to 1997, the value of the company’s stock rose 274%, significantly improving McClendon’s net worth.
In 2005, Chesapeake opened a branch in Texas, and McClendon was named one of the top performing executives in the USA by Forbes. In a few years, he became the highest paid CEO in the USA. At the same time, McClendon had taken out $1 billion in loans as well as used more than $3 million to support the repairs of his own house. Aubrey used the planes that belong to the company for personal reasons. In 2013, he had to step down from CEO position. In 2013, the gas production reached 2.5 million cubic feet per day, and it was estimated that the company was the second largest natural gas company after ExxonMobil.
However, in 2013 McClendon launched a private oil and natural gas company named American Energy Partners, LP. In 2015, Chesapeake filed a lawsuit against Aubrey McClendon. In 2016, McClendon was accused of violating antitrust laws while CEO of Chesapeake, by a federal grand jury. The following day, he apparently committed suicide in a single vehicle collision.
Regardless, McClendon was also known for his philanthropic efforts. He was a member of the boards of directors in a number of public organizations as follows Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma State Fair, The McClendon Family Boys and Girls Club of OKC, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and many others. He was a donor to many art organizations based in Oklahoma City, including Philharmonic, Heritage Foundation, Museum of Art, Lyric Theatre and others. He was an inductee into the Oklahoma Heritage Foundation’s Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
Finally, in the personal life of the businessman, he was married to Kathleen Upton Byrns from 1981, and they had three children.
