Aubrey McClendon Indicted

[carltonplace]

Silkwooded?

First thing I thought. 40 MPH isn't that fast.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Bid rigging can't be one sided. But its very nature, that's just not possible. Others are going down old Rt 66 in the near future.

Hopefully.


Maybe they can stop the bus at Pops and then a quick tour of the Round Barn in Arcadia!!  Then off to prison!!

[cannon_fodder]

First thing I thought. 40 MPH isn't that fast.

Wow, it looks like a lot more impact than 40 MPH.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Looks more like 70+


Captain Paco Balderrama said McClendon was traveling at "well above" the 40 mile per hour speed limit before he "pretty much drove straight into the wall."

[Conan71]

There was probably no shortage of people who wanted to "Silkwood" him, it would have happened long before now.  To do so after the Feds announced an indictment would be pretty much senseless.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Self inflicted.

[Conan71]

Un-named co-conspirator (Sand Ridge) has just been sued along with Chesapeake:

http://kfor.com/2016/03/03/federal-class-action-civil-lawsuit-filed-against-chesapeake-sandridge/

Some of the allegations bear out behavior on McClendon's part which were similar to Tom Kivisto's that tanked SEM group by doing side trades to manipulate the gas market.

The more I read about McClendon's career, I ask myself: "When is enough wealth enough?"

[Breadburner]

He was going 90....

[cannon_fodder]

The more I read about McClendon's career, I ask myself: "When is enough wealth enough?"

Not to turn this conversation too far left... but:

There are 200,000 people in the world with a net worth above $30 mil (70,000 of those in the US, 5000 Americans have more than $100 mil). Those people experienced 7% wealth growth last year.  There are 2,300 people with more than $1 Billion. Those people experienced wealth growth of 12 % last year. Everyone else lost wealth in the aggregate.  Those ultra high net worth individuals ($30mil+) control ~$30,000,000,000,000.00 in wealth. Or about 12% of all the wealth in the world. Drop the bar to $1mil net worth, and that .7% owns 50% of all wealth in the world.

For many people, the answer to how much wealth is enough is "more." And many will lie, cheat, and steal to get it. Even if the consequence is losing your company, respect, facing criminal charges, and even death. Just a billion more is all I need.

[rebound]

Not to turn this conversation too far left... but:

There are 200,000 people in the world with a net worth above $30 mil (70,000 of those in the US, 5000 Americans have more than $100 mil). Those people experienced 7% wealth growth last year.  There are 2,300 people with more than $1 Billion. Those people experienced wealth growth of 12 % last year. Everyone else lost wealth in the aggregate.  Those ultra high net worth individuals ($30mil+) control ~$30,000,000,000,000.00 in wealth. Or about 12% of all the wealth in the world. Drop the bar to $1mil net worth, and that .7% owns 50% of all wealth in the world.

For many people, the answer to how much wealth is enough is "more." And many will lie, cheat, and steal to get it. Even if the consequence is losing your company, respect, facing criminal charges, and even death. Just a billion more is all I need.

To continue the drift...

This topic came up in grad school, which was thirty years ago now, but the study was done by simply asking people "do you have enough money?".   If I recall,  the 50/50 split (where greater than 50 percent said yes they had enough money) was about $30M in wealth.  Curious what the number would be today.

[Conan71]

Much as Tom Kivisto was a degenerate gambler, Aubrey seemed to have a shopping problem of sorts.  With really, really high credit limits:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chesapeake-mcclendon-profile-idUSBRE8560IB20120607

Careful, long read!

I think his net worth was probably equal to what Bill Bartmann's was at the height of CFS- largely over-stated because he was so heavily leveraged in everything.

[AquaMan]

But he was driving a three year old Tahoe? I'd at least go the Arrow Trucking route and get me an exotic...Ferrari, Maserati...Aston...

Anyway, are we sure that was him? Couldn't have been much left. Poor soul.

I had a professor in college who taught accounting whose past life was an oil company exec. We talked about price fixing and collusion because it was topical even then. He casually remarked that when execs from different companies drink, play golf, travel and do business with each other in hopes of making sure they have another potential employer lined up, that the question of collusion becomes fuzzy. He said everyone he knew discussed pricing details without hesitation. Its slippery on those slopes!

[heironymouspasparagus]

Sad for his family.  They most likely didn't deserve to be put through any of this.


As for making millions, well that can be done legitimately.  Probably even tens of millions.  When you get to hundreds of millions, the lines blur.  When you have a billion or more, there has been illegal activity involved.

With the possible exception of lottery winners - and the immoral activity there is the lottery itself, by the state.

[BKDotCom]

Anyway, are we sure that was him? Couldn't have been much left. Poor soul.

The only way to fake a death is when there's no body to be found.

[heironymouspasparagus]

More on 40 mph....even without seat belts, the would likely be survivable even without seat belts just due to air bags.  Painful, but survivable...