Nelson Bunker Hunt
Encyclopedia
Nelson Bunker Hunt is an American
oil
company executive. He is best known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brother William Herbert Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver
. He is also a successful thoroughbred horse breeder.
, and currently lives in Dallas, Texas
. He is the son of Lyda Bunker and oil
tycoon H. L. Hunt
and the brother of Lamar Hunt
, founder of the American Football League
and Kansas City Chiefs
.
, which would later be nationalized by Muammar al-Gaddafi
.
He owns the Dallas, Texas
based Titan Resources Corp, which is involved in the exploration of oil in North Africa. He is chairman of Hunt Exploration and Mining Company (HEMCO).
During the Hunt brothers' accumulation of the precious metal, prices of silver futures contracts and silver bullion during 1979 and 1980 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. The largest single day drop in the price of silver occurred on Silver Thursday
.
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.
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 civil charges of conspiring to manipulate the silver market stemming from his attempt to corner the market in silver. This fine was in addition to a multimillion-dollar settlement to pay back taxes, fines and interest to the Internal Revenue Service
for the same period.
.
He was one of the main sponsors of the conservative organization Western Goals Foundation
founded in 1979 by General John K. Singlaub
, journalist John Rees, and Democratic Congressman from Georgia Larry McDonald
.
During the mid 1980s, Bunker Hunt contributed almost half a million U.S. dollars to "The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty" (NEPL), a conservative fundraising organization later heavily implicated in the Iran-Contra affair
. 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), as well as providing a $3.5 million loan guarantee for the 1979 Campus Crusade film Jesus
.
(NTRA) has awarded Hunt the title of "legendary owner-breeder". Overall, Hunt bred 158 stakes winners and either bred or owned 25 champions.
In 1955, Hunt bought his first thoroughbreds and by the 1970s his breeding program had become 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 8000 acres (32.4 km²) 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
.
In 1973 and 1974, Hunt was the British flat racing Champion Owner
and in 1976 won the Epsom Derby
.
Hunt's bankruptcy forced him to liquidate his thoroughbred operations. A 1988 dispersal sale of 580 horses at Keeneland Sales
brought in $46,911,800, at that time the highest amount in the history of thoroughbred auctions. 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".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
company executive. He is best known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brother William Herbert Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
. He is also a successful thoroughbred horse breeder.
Personal
Hunt was born in El Dorado, ArkansasEl Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado , a multi-cultural arts center: South Arkansas Arts Center , an award-winning renovated downtown, and numerous sporting, shopping, and dining opportunities. El Dorado is the population, cultural, and business center of the 7,300 mi² regional area...
, and currently lives in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He is the son of Lyda Bunker and oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
tycoon H. L. Hunt
H. L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. , known throughout his life as "H. L. Hunt," was a Texas oil tycoon and conservative activist. He built one of the world's largest fortunes by trading poker winnings for oil rights, ultimately securing title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's very...
and the brother of Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
, founder of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Business career
Nelson Bunker Hunt played a very significant role in the discovery and development of the oil fields in LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, which would later be nationalized by Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
.
He owns the Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
based Titan Resources Corp, which is involved in the exploration of oil in North Africa. He is chairman of Hunt Exploration and Mining Company (HEMCO).
Silver manipulation
Beginning in the early 1970s, Hunt and his brother William Herbert Hunt began accumulating large amounts of silver. By 1979, they had nearly cornered the global market. In the last nine months of 1979, the brothers profited by an estimated $2 billion to $4 billion in silver speculation, with estimated silver holdings of 100 million ounces (6.25 million pounds).During the Hunt brothers' accumulation of the precious metal, prices of silver futures contracts and silver bullion during 1979 and 1980 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. The largest single day drop in the price of silver occurred on Silver Thursday
Silver Thursday
Silver Thursday was an event that occurred in the silver commodity markets on Thursday, 27 March 1980. A steep fall in silver prices led to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.-Background:...
.
Hunt filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
in September 1988, largely due to lawsuits incurred as a result of his silver speculation.
In 1989 in a settlement with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....
, Nelson Bunker Hunt was fined US$10 million and banned from trading in the commodity markets as a result of civil charges of conspiring to manipulate the silver market stemming from his attempt to corner the market in silver. This fine was in addition to a multimillion-dollar settlement to pay back taxes, fines and interest to the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
for the same period.
Politics
He has been extremely active in conservative political causes and is a member of the Council of the John Birch SocietyJohn Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
.
He was one of the main sponsors of the conservative organization Western Goals Foundation
Western Goals Foundation
The Western Goals Foundation was a private intelligence dissemination network active on the right-wing in the United States. It was wound up in 1986 when the Tower Commission revealed it had been part of Oliver North's Iran–Contra funding network....
founded in 1979 by General John K. Singlaub
John K. Singlaub
John Kirk Singlaub is a highly-decorated former OSS officer and a retired Major General in the United States Army, and a founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency . He was a joint founder, with Congressman Larry McDonald, of the Western Goals Foundation, a conservative private...
, journalist John Rees, and Democratic Congressman from Georgia Larry McDonald
Larry McDonald
Lawrence Patton McDonald, M.D. was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the seventh congressional district of Georgia as a Democrat...
.
During the mid 1980s, Bunker Hunt contributed almost half a million U.S. dollars to "The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty" (NEPL), a conservative fundraising organization later heavily implicated in the Iran-Contra affair
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
. 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
Campus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...
International's "Here's Life" Campaign (1976–80), as well as providing a $3.5 million loan guarantee for the 1979 Campus Crusade film Jesus
Jesus (1979 film)
Jesus , is a 1979 motion picture which depicts the life of Jesus Christ according primarily to the Gospel of Luke in the Bible...
.
Thoroughbred horse racing
The United States National Thoroughbred Racing AssociationNational Thoroughbred Racing Association
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic...
(NTRA) has awarded Hunt the title of "legendary owner-breeder". Overall, Hunt bred 158 stakes winners and either bred or owned 25 champions.
In 1955, Hunt bought his first thoroughbreds and by the 1970s his breeding program had become one of the world's largest and most productive. Winner of the U.S. Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually.Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder....
in 1976, 1985, and 1987, he owned the 8000 acres (32.4 km²) Bluegrass Farm in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, and raced thoroughbreds in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Among his horses, Hunt bred or raced Vaguely Noble
Vaguely Noble
Vaguely Noble was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United Kingdom and France. The colt is best known as the winner of the 1968 Group one Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when he defeated the best horses from England, France, Ireland and Italy...
, Dahlia
Dahlia (horse)
Dahlia was an American-bred Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racemare who won major races in France, England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States...
, Empery
Empery
Empery was a British racehorse best known for winning the Epsom Derby. Bred and raced by Texas oilman, Nelson Bunker Hunt,...
, Youth
Youth (horse)
Youth was an American-bred French Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Texas oilman, Nelson Bunker Hunt, Youth was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Ack Ack...
, Exceller
Exceller
Exceller is widely considered one of the best horses to race in the United States not to win a year-end championship. Despite his exemplary achievements as a racehorse, and his unique accomplishment in being the only horse to ever defeat two Triple Crown winners in the same race , Exceller is now...
, Trillion
Trillion (horse)
Trillion was a French Thoroughbred racing mare who was an Eclipse Award winner in the United States. Bred in Kentucky by Texas oilman, Nelson Bunker Hunt, she was sired by Hail To Reason, the Leading sire in North America in 1970. Her dam, Margarethen, was a durable racing mare who won sixteen of...
, Glorious Song
Glorious Song
Glorious Song was a Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion in Canada and the United States and became an important broodmare. Bred by the prominent horseman E. P. Taylor at his Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, she was sired by Halo and out of the mare Ballade, who also produced...
, Dahar and Estrapade
Estrapade (horse)
Estrapade was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Bred in Kentucky by Nelson Bunker Hunt, she raced at age three and four in France for Bruce McNall where her most important win came in the 1984 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte...
.
In 1973 and 1974, Hunt was the British flat racing Champion Owner
British flat racing Champion Owner
The Champion Owner of flat racing in Great Britain is the owner whose horses have won the most prizemoney during a season. The list below shows the Champion Owner for each year since 1894.-----See also:* British flat racing Champion Jockey...
and in 1976 won the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
.
Hunt's bankruptcy forced him to liquidate his thoroughbred operations. A 1988 dispersal sale of 580 horses at Keeneland Sales
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
brought in $46,911,800, at that time the highest amount in the history of thoroughbred auctions. 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".
External links
- "H.L. Hunt's Boys and the Circle K Cowboys" by Larry LaBorde