H. L. Hunt

Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. was born on February 17, 1889, and died on November 29, 1974. He was an American oil tycoon who became the founding patriarch of the Hunt business dynasty. He likely built his fortune by speculating in oil leases—though a persistent legend credits his start to poker winnings—and over time he gained control of much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's largest oil deposits. His first major land purchase came from oil speculator Columbus Marion Joiner for $30,000, and he founded Hunt Oil in 1936. From that acquisition and other ventures in publishing, cosmetics, pecan farming, and health food producers, he amassed a fortune that ranked among the largest in the world. During the 1950s, his Facts Forum Foundation backed far-right newspaper columns and radio programs, some of which he wrote and produced himself, earning him a reputation for such views. At his death, his net worth was estimated between $2 billion and $3 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals globally.

Hunt was born near Ramsey in Carson Township, Illinois, the youngest of eight children. He was named after his father, Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, a prosperous farmer-entrepreneur. His mother was Ella Rose (Myers) Hunt. His grandfather, Waddy Hunt, served as a Confederate cavalry officer in the 27th Arkansas Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and was killed by Quantrill's Raiders in 1864 after being mistaken for a Union sympathizer. Hunt was homeschooled and never attended elementary or high school. He later remarked that education is an obstacle to making money. As a teenager, he traveled widely before settling in Arkansas, where by 1912 he was running a cotton plantation. He was known as a math prodigy and a gambler. Internal FBI memoranda report that he ran prostitution activities in Arkansas and, later in the 1950s, operated a private horse racing and gambling bookmaking operation from his Dallas office.

After his cotton plantation flooded, he reportedly turned his last $100 into more than $100,000 by gambling in New Orleans. With those winnings, he bought oil properties in El Dorado, southeast of Texarkana, Arkansas. He was generous to his employees, who repaid his loyalty by tipping him off about rumors of a massive oil field to the south, in East Texas. In negotiations over cheese and crackers at the Baker Hotel in Dallas, Hunt secured title to the largest known oil deposit in the world from wildcatter Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner, who had discovered the East Texas Oil Field. Hunt agreed to pay Joiner $1,000,000 and to protect him from liability for Joiner's many fraudulent transactions tied to the property. In 1957, Fortune estimated Hunt's fortune at $400–700 million, ranking him among the eight richest people in the United States. J. Paul Getty, considered the world's richest private citizen, said of Hunt, "In terms of extraordinary, independent wealth, there is only one man—H. L. Hunt." Hunt was one of several Texas businessmen featured in the 1968 BBC documentary *The Plutocrats* about the ultra-rich of Texas.

Hunt had fifteen children by three wives. He married Lyda Bunker of Lake Village, Arkansas, in November 1914, and they remained married until her death in 1955. Their seven children were Margaret (1915–2007), Haroldson ("Hassie", 1917–2005), Caroline (1923–2018), Lyda (born and died in 1925), Nelson Bunker (1926–2014), William Herbert (1929–2024), and Lamar (1932–2006). Their home on White Rock Lake in Dallas was styled after Mount Vernon but much larger. His first son, Hassie, expected to succeed him in the family business, was lobotomized due to increasingly erratic behavior and outlived his father. Lamar founded the American Football League and created the Super Bowl, with help from his children in choosing the game's name. Two other children, Herbert and Bunker, became famous for buying up much of the world's silver in an attempt to corner the market, ultimately owning more silver than any government before their scheme was discovered and undone. Bunker Hunt briefly became one of the wealthiest men in the world after discovering and taking title to Libyan oil fields, which Muammar Gaddafi later nationalized.

While still married to Lyda, Hunt is said to have married Frania Tye of Tampa, Florida, in November 1925 under the name Franklin Hunt. Frania claimed she discovered the bigamous nature of the marriage in 1934. In a 1941 legal settlement, Hunt created trust funds for their four children, and she signed a document stating that no legal marriage had ever existed. Around the same time, she briefly married and divorced Hunt's employee John Lee, taking the last name Lee for herself and her children. Frania's four children by Hunt were Howard (born 1926), Haroldina (1928), Helen (1930), and Hugh ("Hue", 1934). Frania Tye Lee died in 2002. Hunt also supported and had children by Ruth Ray of Shreveport, Louisiana, whom he met when she was a secretary in his Shreveport office. They married in 1957 after Lyda's death. Their four children were Ray Lee (born 1943), June (1944), Helen (1949), and Swanee (1950). His youngest son, Ray Lee, inherited the business and became a major supporter of President George W. Bush. Hunt's fifteen children in birth order are: Margaret Hunt Hill (October 19, 1915 – June 14, 2007), philanthropist and co-owner of Hunt Petroleum; H. L. "Hassie" Hunt III (November 23, 1917 – April 20, 2005), diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early 1940s and co-owner of Hunt Petroleum; and Caroline Rose Hunt (January 8, 1923 – November 13, 2018), founder and honorary chair.