Harold Hamm
Encyclopedia
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as the 33rd richest person in America, with a net worth of $8.6 billion. Hamm is a key player in Hiland Partners and Hiland Holdings as well as the oil-exploration company Continental Resources
Continental Resources
Continental Resources is an oil and natural gas exploration company headquartered in Enid, Oklahoma, which will relocate to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2012....
, Oklahoma's fourth largest public company. Continental Resources, which is currently operating out of the Continental Towers in Enid, Oklahoma
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
will move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
in 2012. Hamm was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2011.
He worked his way up from pumping gas and car repair at Potter’s Corner in Enid to becoming CEO of his own billion-dollar company. Harold Hamm has been the CEO of Continental Resources since 1967, when the company was called Shelly Dean Oil Company. Mr. Hamm and Continental Resources have been instrumental in developing the gigantic Bakken oil field
Bakken Formation
The Bakken formation, initially described by geologist J.W. Nordquist in 1953,is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Saskatchewan...
in Montana and North Dakota . He has five children and lives in Enid, Oklahoma
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
. Hamm holds honorary degrees from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. He is a graduate of Enid High School
Enid High School
Enid High School is a public secondary school in Enid, Oklahoma operated by the Enid Public Schools school district. With a student body of about 1,700 in grades 9-12, Enid High School has about a 65 percent matriculation rate...
. The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma was named after Hamm, who has battled diabetes. Hamm's foundation, the Harold and Sue Ann Hamm Foundation donated 10 million dollars to create the center.