As CEO of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy, McClendon was often the face of this boom, turning the company he formed in 1989 into the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. In 2013, he left Chesapeake to form American Energy Partners, another large energy producer in headquartered in Oklahoma.
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“Anyone who knows me, my business record and the industry in which I have worked for 35 years, knows that I could not be guilty of violating any antitrust laws”.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is reporting two additional flu-related deaths in the state for the current season.
McClendon, along with Clay Bennett, owned part of the Seattle Super Sonics before the team relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.
In 2013, McClendon was forced out of Chesapeake by the new board of directors amid significant differences in opinion regarding the company’s direction.
“There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the road but that did not happen”, Captain Paco Balderrama of the Oklahoma City police said at a press conference.
The crash took place 8 miles from the business American Energy Partners, which was founded by McClendon and where he had been CEO and chairman.
McClendon’s leadership team members issued a joint statement Thursday, saying they are firm in their conviction “that Aubrey would want us to persevere and continue his extraordinary legacy of innovation and creativity”. McClendon, who was not wearing a seatbelt, had been driving well over the posted speed limit, police said.
Aubrey McClendon, once dubbed “America’s most reckless billionaire”, faced prosecution for allegedly conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases.
A native of Oklahoma, McClendon attended Duke University before starting Chesapeake with his friend Tom Ward, who went on to lead SandRidge Energy Inc for a time.
Tuesday’s indictment of McClendon followed a almost four-year federal antitrust probe that began as a result of a Reuters investigation which showed that Chesapeake had discussed with a rival how to suppress land lease prices.
“His insatiable, thought-inspiring intellectual curiosity to always find the good in everything and make it better, which manifested itself through dozens of philanthropic organizations and efforts, will be greatly missed, particularly in his dearly loved hometown of Oklahoma City”, Raymond said.
He denied the allegations against him.
McClendon is survived by his wife, Katie, a Whirlpool heiress, and their three children, Jack, Callie and Will.
His leveraged deals and stirring speeches attracted followers – and a long list of investors from whom he raised billions of dollars.
Fellow energy magnate and Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens described McClendon as a “major player in leading the stunning energy renaissance in America”.
“The charge that has been filed against me today is wrong and unprecedented”.
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As part of his efforts to attract top talent to Chesapeake and its 50-acre red brick campus, McClendon had the company built a 72,000-square-foot fitness center and a health center that offered teeth whitening.
