William Myron Keck
William M. Keck | |
---|---|
Born | April 27, 1880 |
Died | August 20, 1964 (aged 84) |
Resting place | San Gabriel Cemetery, San Gabriel, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, philanthropist |
Known for | Founding Superior Oil Company and the W. M. Keck Foundation |
William Myron Keck (April 27, 1880 – August 20, 1964) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as the founder of Superior Oil Company,[1] author Kevin Krajick has described Keck as "the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instincts about the location of petroleum were so uncanny, some believed him clairvoyant."[2] Keck established the W. M. Keck Foundation.[1]
Early life
William Myron Keck was born on April 27, 1880. After his father left home to work in the oil fields, he landed a job selling sandwiches
Business career
Drilling as a speculator
In his younger years, he became a "
Establishing Superior Oil
By 1921, he had accumulated enough leases to start his own firm.[3] In 1921, Keck founded the Superior Oil Company in Coalinga, California.[7] The company focused on the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, and was involved with a number of new methods under Keck. Under Keck, in 1930 the company was the first to successfully use directional drilling in California.[8]
Author Kevin Krajick has described Keck as "the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instincts about the location of petroleum were so uncanny, some believed him clairvoyant."
Growth of Superior
In 1933, under Keck the company was the first to use a reflection
Personal life
He had several children with his wife, Alice Bertha Cominski: Willametta Keck,
Although his estate was estimated to be worth upward of $160 million, he died owing $36.4 million to three banks in New York and Texas.[13] He left his widow, Sylvia Jean Keck, with "$400,000 outright and trust income from 4,000 shares of stock valued at $6.34 million."[10] His two daughters and two sons were left "nothing specifically. They are said to be independently wealthy."[10] The family house was willed to the William M. Keck Foundation.[10] Another 11,000 shares of Superior stock, valued at $17 million in 1964, were placed in trust to be divided among the University of Southern California, Pomona College, Occidental College, and the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel, California.[10]
Philanthropy
In 1954 he founded the
References
- ^ a b c d e "Visionary Philanthropy: A Home Run!". W. M. Keck Observatory. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North America Arctic", Kevin Krajick, Open Road Media, Feb 2, 2016. Quote: "This was Howard Keck. Keck was not just any Houston oil billionaire; his father had been William Keck, the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instincts about the location of petroleum were so uncanny, some believed him clairvoyant. Starting as a penniless roustabout, he rose in the 1920s to found the Superior Oil Company. He pioneered deep offshore drilling, was first to find commercial deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, and practically ran the oil-rich nation of Venezuela. Even in his later years, when a drilling rig brought up a slimy core, old man Keck sniffed and tasted the rock to gauge the prospect."
- ^ a b c d e f g "Turmoil Plagues Wealthy Keck Family : Whodunit Reveals Problems of the Rich and Feuding", Edwin Chen, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1989
- ^ a b c "William Myron Keck II, grandson of legendary wildcatter, dies at 72", Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2014
- ^ a b c d e Helgesen, Sally. Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money. page 175. Quote: Keck started Superior after he made one of the biggest streaks of the 1920s, in California's Kettleman hills. William Keck then became one of the first oilmen to move his business to Houston, which at the time was not much more than an inadequately drained malarial swamp... William Keck was known throughout the company he had created as "the Old Man", and people called him that until the day he died. His character was strong and some said it was mean. His political views were fiercely conservative, but he was nimble and innovative when it came to doing business. He was the first independent to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and year after year he set records for the deepest-drilled well. He gambled on a big scale and earned Superior the epithet it still carries today, that of being "the Cadillac of the oil business..." William Keck ran his company like a one-man machine, and he retained control of the stock even after it went public.
- ^ a b "Big Daddy: Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics", Bill Boyarsky
- ^ a b "Founder". W M Keck Foundation. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Founder", W. M. Keck Foundation
- ^ "Family Feud at Superior Oil", The New York Times, April 30, 1983
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
- ^ "Inside the Historic Owlwood Estate in Los Angeles That Sold for $90M", Ariel Ramchandani, Mansion Global, October 23, 2016
- ^ "4 Colleges Share in Trust Gifts", The New York Times, April 14, 1985
- ^ "$160 Million Value Put on Keck Estate", June 30, 1965, The New York Times, June 30, 1965
- ^ "SCIENCE WATCH; Biggest Telescope", The New York Times, October 23, 1990