RIP: T. Boone Pickens, May 28, 1928-Sept. 11, 2019
Self-made Texas oil tycoon and Oklahoma State booster T. Boone Pickens often said he wouldn’t retire until he dies, according to WFAA TV.
He’s retired now.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of T. Boone Pickens on Sept. 11, 2019,” T. Boone Pickens Foundation team members announced on a memorial Facebook page.
He was 91.
Until recently, he was still going to his office near Preston Center.
After a couple of strokes and falls, he went into hospice care at home last week, media outlets reported.
At age 85, North Texas business leaders named the energy titan Dallas-Fort Worth’s 2013 CEO of the Year in the annual CEO Sentiment Survey conducted by Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.
D Magazine reported on that story.
“A good CEO has to be ready, willing, and able to make decisions,” he told the magazine, comparing business to basketball. “If you are not a finished team, then get yourself to where you are. You can stay alive, but when you really make money is when everyone is coming down the floor together.”
Former President George W. Bush reflected on Pickens’ legacy.
“T. Boone Pickens became a household name across the country because he was bold, imaginative, and daring,” Bush said in a press release. “He was successful – and more importantly, he generously shared his success with institutions and communities across Texas and Oklahoma. He loved the outdoors, his country, and his friends and family, and Laura and I send our condolences.”
