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Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr. (February 17, 1889–November 29, 1974), known throughout his life as "H. L. Hunt," was an American oil tycoon.

Hunt was born near Ramsey, in Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois, the youngest of eight children. He was named after his father, Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, who was a prosperous farmer-entrepreneur; his mother was Ella Rose (Myers) Hunt.

He was educated at home, and as a teenager traveled to various places before settling in Arkansas, where he was running a cotton plantation by 1912. He had a reputation as a gambler. He ended up making his fortune in the oil business. In 1957 Fortune estimated that he had a fortune of between US $400 million and US $700 million, and was one of the eight richest people in the United States.

Hunt married twice, and had fourteen children. His first wife was Lyda Bunker (died 1955), whom he married in Arkansas on November 26, 1914. They had six children, the best-known of whom are Bunker, Lamar and Herbert. Starting in 1925, he had an affair with Frania Tye (whom he may or may not have married), and they had four children, including Hugh Hunt, before splitting up in 1942. Hunt then had four more children with his mistress, a Hunt Oil Company secretary named Ruth Ray, whom he married in 1957.

Hunt died, aged 85, in Dallas, Texas. He was buried there in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery.

Family

Hunt had three families and 14 children:

1. Margaret Hunt Hill (October 19, 1915–June 14, 2007): philanthropist and co-owner of Hunt Petroleum.
2. H. L. "Hassie" Hunt III (November 23, 1917–April 20, 2005): diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early 1940s; co-owner of Hunt Petroleum.
3. Caroline Rose Hunt (born January 8, 1923): Founder and Honorary Chairman of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts which operates The Mansion on Turtle Creek.
4. Nelson Bunker Hunt (born February 22, 1926): A major force in developing Libyan oil fields. Eventually attempted to corner the world market in silver in 1979, and was convicted of conspiring to manipulate the market. Legendary owner-breeder ^[1] of Thoroughbred racehorses.
5. Howard Lee Hunt (October 25, 1926–October 13, 1975)
6. Haroldina Franch Hunt (October 26, 1928–November 10, 1995)
7. William Herbert Hunt (born c. 1929) A major and defining force in the oil industry, he was also a legendary businessman and oilman. At times, ran Hunt Oil, Hunt Petroleum, Hunt Energy, Placid Oil, etc. The founder of Petro-Hunt LLC.
8. Helen Lee Cartledge Hunt (October 28, 1930–June 3, 1962)
9. Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932–December 13, 2006): co-founder of the American Football League and the North American Soccer League; owner of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League; owner of the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas of Major League Soccer; impetus behind 1966 AFL-NFL merger, coined the name "Super Bowl."
10. Hugh S. Hunt (October 14, 1934–November 12, 2002): lived in Potomac, Maryland, founder of Constructivist Foundation.
11. Ray Lee Hunt (born c. 1943): chairman of Hunt Oil.
12. June Hunt (born c. 1944): host of a daily religious radio show, Hope for the Heart.
13. Helen LaKelly Hunt (born c. 1949): a pastoral counselor in Dallas; co-manager of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, one of the family's charitable arms.
14. Swanee Hunt (born May 1, 1950): former U.S. ambassador to Austria; now head of the Women and Public Policy Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and president of Hunt Alternatives Fund.

See also

• List of most wealthy historical figures

Notes

1. ^ Nelson Bunker Hunt biography, National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

External links

• Hunt Oil
• HL's Grave
• H.L. Hunt's Boys and the Circle K Cowboys
• Hunt Heirs fight over Estate
• Biography of H. L. Hunt by Jerrell Dean Palmer in the Handbook of Texas Online
• A Matter of Trust by Gretel C. Kovach for D Magazine