H. L. Hunt

Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon and the founding patriarch of the Hunt business dynasty. Most likely through money he gained by speculating in oil leases (though legend claims it was poker winnings), he gradually secured title to much of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the world's largest oil deposits. His first such land purchase was from oil speculator Columbus Marion Joiner for $30,000, and he founded Hunt Oil in 1936. From that acquisition and others including diverse interests in publishing, cosmetics, pecan farming, and health food producers, he accrued a fortune which was among the world's largest. In the 1950s, his Facts Forum Foundation supported far-right newspaper columns and radio programs, some of which he authored and produced himself, and for which he became known. At the time of his death, he was reputed to have one of the highest net worths of any individual in the world, estimated between $2 billion and $3 billion.