Nelson Bunker Hunt

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Nelson Bunker Hunt
Born February 22, 1926 (1926-02-22) (age 82)
El Dorado, Arkansas, U.S.
Occupation Businessman:
Oil & Mining
Racehorse owner/breeder

Nelson Bunker Hunt (born February 22, 1926) is an American oil company executive. He is arguably most well known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after the failure of an attempt by him and his brother William Herbert Hunt to corner the world market in silver[1], but also as a successful thoroughbred horse breeder[2].

Contents

[edit] Personal

Hunt was born in El Dorado, Arkansas and currently lives in Dallas, Texas.[3] He is the son of Lyda Bunker and oil tycoon H. L. Hunt. He has been married to Caroline Lewis since 1951, and has four children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.[3]

[edit] Business career

Nelson Bunker Hunt played a very significant role in the discovery and development of the oil fields in Libya which would later be nationalized by Muammar al-Gaddafi.[citation needed]

He is chairman of Hunt Exploration and Mining Company (HEMCO).[citation needed]

[edit] Silver Thursday

Beginning in the early 1970s the Hunt brothers began accumulating large amounts of silver. By 1979, they had nearly cornered the global market[4]. In the last nine months of 1979 the brothers earned an estimated $2 billion to $4 billion in silver speculation, with estimated silver holdings of 100 million oz.[5]

During Hunt's attempts to manipulate the prices of silver futures contracts and silver bullion during 1979 and 1980 silver prices rose from $11 an ounce in September 1979 to $50 an ounce in January 1980. Silver prices ultimately collapsed to below $11 an ounce two months later[1].

In 1989 in a settlement with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Nelson Bunker Hunt was fined US $10 million and banned from trading in the commodity markets as a result of charges stemming from his attempt to corner the market in silver, leading to a commodity crash known as Silver Thursday[1]. This was in addition to a multimillion-dollar settlement to pay back taxes, fines and interest to the Internal Revenue Service for the same period [1].

Hunt filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code in September 1988, largely due to lawsuits incurred as a result of his silver speculation[1].

[edit] Politics

He is active in right-wing leaning political causes and is a current member of the Council of the John Birch Society[3]. Hunt is past Chairman of the Board of the Bible Society of Texas and the past Chairman of, and significant contributor to, Campus Crusade for Christ International's "Here's Life" Campaign (1976-80)[3][6] as well as providing a $3.5 million loan guarantee for the 1979 Campus Crusade film "Jesus".[7]

Hunt has also been associated with the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics and has donated millions to Christian World Liberation Front, Moral Majority, Christian Broadcasters Network, and Strategies to Eliminate Poverty (STEP).[citation needed]

[edit] Thoroughbred horse racing

The United States National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has awarded Hunt the title of "legendary owner-breeder"[8].

In 1955, Hunt bought his first Thoroughbreds and by the 1970s his breeding program had became one of the world's largest and most productive. Winner of the U.S. Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder in 1976, 1985, and 1987, he owned the 8,000 acre Bluegrass Farm in Lexington, Kentucky and raced Thoroughbreds in Europe and North America. Among his horses, Hunt bred or raced Vaguely Noble, Dahlia, Empery, Youth, Exceller, Trillion, Glorious Song, Dahar and Estrapade.[2]

In 1973 and 1974, Nelson Bunker Hunt was the British flat racing Champion Owner and in 1976 won England's most prestigious race, the Epsom Derby.[2]

Hunt's bankruptcy forced him to liquidate his thoroughbred operations. A 1988 dispersal sale of 580 horses at Keeneland brought in $46,911,800, at that time the highest amount in the history of Thoroughbred auctions [2]. In 1999, he returned to Thoroughbred ownership, spending a total of $2,075,000 on 51 juveniles and yearlings. At the time Hunt said "At my age, I don't plan to do any breeding or buy a farm, I just want to have some fun and try to get lucky racing"[8].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Eichenwald, Kurt. "2 Hunts Fined And Banned From Trades", New York Times, 1989-12-21. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  2. ^ a b c d Bowen, Edward L. (2004). Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders. Lexington, KY, United States: Eclipse Press, pp249-262. ISBN 158150117X. 
  3. ^ a b c d Nelson Bunker Hunt. The John Birch Society, Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  4. ^ Gwynne, S. C. (2001-09). "Bunker HUNT and his brother, Herbert, are in the money yet again. Did someone say something about bankruptcy?". Texas Monthly 29 (9): p78. Austin, Texas, United States: Emmis Communications Corporation. 
  5. ^ "Bunker Hunt's Comstock Lode" (1980-01-14). Time Magazine 115 (2). Time Inc.. 
  6. ^ Diamond, Sara (1989). Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right. Boston, USA: South End Press, p53. ISBN 0896083616. 
  7. ^ Van Biema, David (2003-06-30). "The Life of Jesus in 830 Languages". Time Magazine 161 (26): p42. Time Inc.. 
  8. ^ a b Nelson Bunker Hunt. National Thoroughbred Racing Association (2006-05-30). Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
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