#338 Monty Moncrief Texas Oil Billionaire

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Feb 13, 2024

Dive into the life of Monty Moncrief, a Texas oil tycoon who blended family and business seamlessly. Discover how his hard work and sheer confidence transformed him from a struggling landman to a successful mogul. Explore the audacious spirit of early wildcatters who disregarded expert warnings, contributing immensely to America's oil landscape. The podcast also reflects on the weight of legacy and mentorship in entrepreneurship, showcasing how Moncrief's journey shaped future generations in the industry.

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ANECDOTE

Monty's Values

Monty Moncrief, a Texas oil patriarch, valued family and business equally, using "we" instead of "I."
He prioritized continuity, viewing his oil company as an extension of his dynasty.

INSIGHT

Founder's Shadow

Founders cast long shadows over their companies and families, influencing future generations.
This "shadow" can be a burden, as successors struggle to live up to the founder's legacy.

INSIGHT

Limitless Opportunity

Monty entered the oil business during a period of limitless opportunity on the open frontier.
He built cities and dynasties, shaping the industry and leaving a lasting legacy.

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The House of Morgan

An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

Ron Chernow

This book is a rich, panoramic story of four generations of the Morgan family and their secretive firms that transformed the modern financial world. It traces the trajectory of J.P. Morgan’s empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the financial crisis of 1987. Chernow explores the family’s private saga, their involvement in major infrastructure projects, their influence on foreign policy, and their relationships with prominent figures like Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, Franklin Roosevelt, Nancy Astor, and Winston Churchill. The book is a masterpiece of financial history, awarded the 1990 National Book Award for Nonfiction and selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Twentieth Century.

The Big Rich

The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes

Bryan Burrough

In 'The Big Rich', Bryan Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of one of the great economic and political powerhouses of the twentieth century—Texas oil. The book focuses on the epic sagas of the industry's Big Four: Roy Cullen, H.L. Hunt, Clint Murchison, and Sid Richardson. These men, from modest backgrounds, became patriarchs of the wealthiest oil families in Texas, influencing American politics, economy, and culture. Their stories include rags-to-riches tales, notorious scandals, high-stakes political influence, and eventual family feuds, scandals, and bankruptcies that marked the end of their era by the late 1980s.

Poor Charlie's Almanack

The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

Charles T. Munger

Peter D. Kaufman

Originally published in 2005, Poor Charlie's Almanack is a collection of eleven talks delivered by Charles T. Munger between 1986 and 2007. Edited by Peter D. Kaufman, this book draws on Munger's extensive knowledge across various fields to provide a framework for rational and rigorous approaches to life, learning, and decision-making. It is renowned for its sharp wit and rhetorical flair, making it an essential read for investors, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking to enhance their wisdom and critical thinking skills.

The fish that ate the whale

The Life and Times of America's Banana King

Rich Cohen

This book tells the fascinating story of Samuel Zemurray, who started as a roadside banana peddler and eventually built a sprawling empire involving banana cowboys, mercenary soldiers, Honduran peasants, CIA agents, and American statesmen. Rich Cohen's narrative explores Zemurray's rise to power, his involvement in overthrowing Central American governments, and his complex role in American history. The book delves into Zemurray's personal life, his business exploits, and the moral implications of his actions, painting a nuanced portrait of a man driven by an indomitable will to succeed.

Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money

Sally Helgesen

Wildcatters tells the story of three generations of Texas oilmen, from pioneers like Clint Murchison and Monty Moncrief to their grandsons who navigated the challenges of OPEC and international oil exploration. The book captures the spirit of risk-taking and entrepreneurship that defined the Texas oil industry during its boom years.

What I learned from reading Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money by Sally Helgesen.

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(0:01) Family and business were the same thing to him.

(1:00) We're one-hundred percent family owned, unincorporated, and independent, and we intend to stay that way.

(1:00) He possessed the directness and the utter simplicity of the old and the truly great.

(2:00) His unquestioning confidence in the worthiness of his enterprise made him seem impervious to doubts.

(5:00) The Morgans always believed in absolute monarchy. While Junius Morgan lived, he ruled the family and the business. Until Junius died his massive shadow dominated his son’s life. — The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow. (Founders #139)

(8:00) Everywhere they looked, they saw opportunity without limits. The land itself was empty, and so these men built cities upon it and founded dynasties. They left behind them a world made in their own image.

(9:00) The old wildcatters had neither the time nor the inclination to question their own purposes, or to agonize about what the future consequences of their efforts might be. They just went out and did whatever was there to be done.

(10:00) The trouble with this business is that everybody expects to find oil on the surface. If it was up near the top, it wouldn't be any trick to it. You've got to drill deep for oil. — The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes by Bryan Burrough (Founders #149)

(14:00) Charlie’s surfing model. One thing I learned from having dinner with Charlie was the importance of getting into a great business and STAYING in it. There’s a tendency in human nature to mess up a good thing because of an inability to sit still:

"There are huge advantages for the early birds. When you're an early bird, there's a model that I call surfing—when a surfer gets up and catches the wave and just stays there, he can go a long, long time.

But if he gets off the wave, he becomes mired in shallows. But people get long runs when they're right on the edge of the wave, whether it's Microsoft or Intel or all kinds of people."

— the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)

(18:00) Ted Turner's Autobiography (Founders #327)

(19:00) All the stories seem to be about the same prickly individual. They are giants, successful predators, acute and astute, tamers of the untamable and defenders of vast treasure.

(26:00) There are times when certain cards sit unclaimed in the common pile, when certain properties become available that will never be available again. A good businessman feels these moments like a fall in the barometric pressure. A great businessman is dumb enough to act on them even when he cannot afford to. — The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen. (Founders #255)

(29:00) Delusional optimism: Go from one setback to another setback without any loss of enthusiasm.

(31:00) There's no what if. There's only what happened.

(33:00) Rainmakers Podcast

(34:00) I’d rather be lucky than smart, because a lot of smart guys go hungry.

(36:00) Optimism is the personal quality that nurtures luck.

(36:00) Chaos and defiance ruled the day, and those who led the way made little secret of their refusal to be controlled.

(44:00) Anybody who's got an idea of his own has to be a little bit crazy. Being crazy is something big companies just don't understand.

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