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    The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future
    Unavailable
    The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future
    Unavailable
    The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future
    Audiobook8 hours

    The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future

    Written by T. Boone Pickens

    Narrated by Arthur Morey

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Now eighty years old, T. Boone Pickens is a legendary figure in the business world. Known as the "Oracle of Oil," he built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the United States. When Pickens left Mesa after a downward spiral in the company's profits, many counted him out.  What followed for him was the loss of 90 percent of his investing capital. But Pickens was far from out.

    He went on to stage one of the most impressive comebacks in the industry, turning his investment fund's remaining $3 million into $8 billion. That made him, at age seventy-seven, the world's second-highest-paid hedge fund manager. Today, Pickens is making some of the world's most colossal energy bets.

    In this audiobook, Pickens not only presents a comprehensive plan for American energy independence but also provides a fascinating glimpse into key resources. The First Billion Is the Hardest is both a riveting account of a life spent pulling off improbable triumphs and a report back from the front of the global energy and natural-resource wars.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 9, 2008
    ISBN9781415949559
    Unavailable
    The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future

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    Reviews for The First Billion Is the Hardest

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    • 4/5
      From a businessman who is extraordinarily humble yet is considered one of the world’s most visionary, The First Billion Is the Hardest is both a riveting account of a life spent pulling off improbable triumphs and a report back from the front of the global energy and natural-resource wars. Very entertaining read.
    • 5/5
      I enjoy this book very much, great inspiration though provoking
    • 4/5
      The life and many restarts of T. Boone Pickens will hopefully give anyone hope that it's never to late to start over. At 80 years old, he is still starting new projects and enterprises that may not even reach fruition during his lifetime, but he does it because he wants to see it happen, and because it's something that needs to happen.Starting as a geologist for big oil, Pickens became an oil expert. He made his fortune being able to predict trends and follow it up with innovative ideas. Unlike most men in his position, he freely admits that our dependence on oil is devastating unless we do something yesterday, and he's got some ideas in the works. Early on, he was a proponent for natural gas use for transportation instead of energy production, his argument is quite compelling. More recently, he's seen the necessity of water reserves and wind power.Along with a very interesting life, Pickens writes out what his proposed energy plan for our future looks like. This is where his genius shines through, not because he has a perfect plan, because he's the first to admit it has flaws, but because he is the only one who says "money be damned, let's secure our future." Since he's not in anyone's pocket, he can speak frankly without repercussions, and he's proven himself right enough times that he is a man worth paying attention to.