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Showing posts from September, 2019

Energy Tycoon T. Boone Pickens Jr. Dies at 91

Topline: Legendary energy tycoon and hedge fund manager T. Boone Pickens died at 91 on Wednesday after being in declining health following a major fall and a series of strokes in 2017. Forbes ranked Pickens as a billionaire in 2013, but he soon he fell off The Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans. At the time, he tweeted to his more than 110,000 followers: "Don't worry. At $950 million, I'm doing fine. Funny, my $1 billion charitable giving exceeds my net worth." The biggest recipient of his philanthropy has been Oklahoma State University, his alma mater. According to a Forbes profile in 2014, he had given OSU $500 million, with $165 million for the athletics department. His name is on the football stadium and the school of geology. Usually described as a “corporate raider,” he told Forbes in 2014: “I prefer the term ‘shareholder activist.’” Pickens was a Forbes contributor , writing about philanthropy and offering advice .  Key background...

Austin Songwriting Genius Daniel Johnston Dead at 58

Eccentric singer-songwriter reportedly died of heart attack Daniel Johnston , the influential singer-songwriter and visual artist who painted Austin’s famous “Hi How Are You” frog mural on the Drag, died at home last night following a presumed heart attack at age 58. The news was confirmed by his former manager Jeff Tartakov. Johnston’s physical health worsened significantly in recent years. Last year, his sister Margy Johnston told the Chronicle that Daniel had recently endured a rough go that included falling, hospitalization, and frequent adjustments to his medication. Daniel Johnston at home in Waller in 2015 (Photo by Todd V. Wolfson) In January, while famous fans like the Flaming Lips and Yo La Tengo were covering his songs at ACL Live at the Moody Theater for the second annual Hi, How Are You Day, Daniel landed in the hospital again. Johnston, who was raised in West Virginia and moved to Austin in the early Eighties, counts 17 full-length albums of original music...