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

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With a Plan for Reducing U.S. Oil Dependency

It’s never too late to top your personal best.

Now eighty years old, T. Boone Pickens is a legendary figure in the business world. Known as the “Oracle of Oil” because of his uncanny ability to predict the direction of fuel prices, he built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the United States, from a $2,500 investment. In the 1980s, Pickens became a household name when he executed a series of unsolicited buyout bids for undervalued oil companies, in the process reinventing the notion of shareholders’ rights. Even his failures were successful in that they forced risk-averse managers to reconsider the way they did business.

When Pickens left Mesa at age sixty-eight after a spectacular downward spiral in the company’s profits, many counted him out. Indeed, what followed for him was a painful divorce, clinical depression, a temporary inability to predict the movement of energy prices, and the loss of 90 percent of his investing capital. But Pickens was far from out.

From that personal and professional nadir, Pickens staged one of the most impressive comebacks in the industry, turning his investment fund’s remaining $3 million into $8 billion in profit in just a few years. That made him, at age seventy-seven, the world’s second-highest-paid hedge fund manager. But he wasn’t done yet. Today, Pickens is making some of the world’s most colossal energy bets. If he has his way, most of America’s cars will eventually run on natural gas, and vast swaths of the nation’s prairie land will become places where wind can be harnessed for power generation. Currently no less bold than he was decades ago when he single-handedly transformed America’s oil industry, Pickens is staking billions on the conviction that he knows what’s coming. In this book, he spells out that future in detail, not only presenting a comprehensive plan for American energy independence but also providing a fascinating glimpse into key resources such as water—yet another area where he is putting billions on the line.

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—of vital interest to anyone who has a stake in America’s future.

From the Hardcover edition.

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

So that natural gas can be used in transportation. I watched Pickens Plan on TV in 2008. Solar and wind can be used to charge PHEV at night time. Why not use PHEV(Plug-In Electric Vehicle) in transportation directly. I read this book once I found in library. Pretty good book.I have one question about Pickens plan in which solar and wind replace natural gas in power generation.

He doesnt sound political. but Mr pickens no more coal plants please.

If only the last president bush would follow what he does in wind energy. more of those energy belt you mention would be great.

Even though I do not agree 100% of Mr Pickens' view. if only the republicans would listen to someone like Mr Pickens.

the world would be a different place perhaps. I agree with him mostly.

but i feel that he is more a republican then democrat.

His story of success, collapse, and redemption in the oil and natural gas business is unique, and his commitment to his latest initiative - green energy - is truly inspiring. A 'business book' from a refreshing perspective, I liken it more to a series of interesting anecdotes on leadership, timing, and decision-making.

Bottom line: 4 stars. Finally, he describes his philanthropic work. What sources. Boone, I'll up it to five stars if you hire me. Plus, he thinks we should be moving to compressed natural gas for both passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles right now. This is several books in one.

So, based on that, you should perhaps pay a little bit of attention to my opinion about the long term future of oil and natural gas.' Then he proceeds to describe himself as a believer in peak oil theory, recommending a shift to other sources. It's a good read, but hard to put it in any one "box", due to very broad scope. Pickens first describes the career path that made him one of the world's wealthiest people, which starts to seem a little too self-congratulatory. He then makes extended arguments for compressed natural gas in vehicles, and wind farms for electric. Then about the time you get tired of hearing about Pickens getting rich, Pickens shifts to making the argument (paraphrasing): `as you can see, I got rich in the futures market by being one of the best in the world at predicting the forward price of fossil fuels, especially crude oil and natural gas - and don't forget I got started a geologist.

Pickens believes we're going to need to develop all sources: shale oil, Canadian oil sands, liquefied coal, solar, wind, and nuclear.

This is just one chapter of a great billionaire that is for a GREEN Earth. Boone Pickens has done a lot for Texas and the nation.