IT'S NOT JUST YOU: AN ENERGY HIGHFLIER'S $2 BILLION BURNOUT IT'S NOT JUST YOU: AN ENERGY HIGHFLIER'S $2 BILLION BURNOUT BurnoutThe great-nephew of Kerr-McGee founder Robert Kerr Robert Kerr or Robbie Kerr could refer to:
McClendon is on the board of directors at Chesapeake, which, among others, includes prominent Oklahoma politicians Frank Keating and Don Nickles. co-founded natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is a producer of natural gas in the United States and according to their 3Q 2007 report, is the largest independent producer, third overall (including majors) and the most active driller of new wells in the US. in 1989 with $50,000. The company grew rapidly through acquisitions in the early 1990s but almost collapsed when natural gas prices later plunged. McClendon, 49, came back even stronger, though. As energy prices rebounded in recent years, Chesapeake gobbled up rivals and exploration acreage in emerging gas fields in Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia. McClendon was quick to take out his personal checkbook, too, investing in the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= team and buying $39 million worth of lakefront property in Michigan, a state that is reeling from the deep troubles in the auto industry. Then McClendon got caught short--again. To cut Chesapeake's debt, he began selling interests in some of its new fields. But energy prices fell, taking the company's stock with it. Margin loans that McClendon had backed with his Chesapeake shares were called in. He was forced to sell nearly all of his Chesapeake holdings in October, erasing in one fell swoop a position that had been worth billions earlier in 2008. McClendon's loss: $2 billion. 
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