What is Philip Anschutz's Net Worth?
Philip Anschutz is an American entrepreneur who has a net worth of $13 billion. Philip is one of just two Americans who have maintained billionaire status ever year since 1982, with the other being William Herbert Hunt. Today majority of Philip Anschutz's fortune is derived from his Denver-based conglomerate Anschutz Corp. The most valuable and famous of his over 150 companies is Anschutz Entertainment Group, which is better known by its initials AEG. AEG owns L.A. Live, a 27-acre entertainment complex in Los Angeles. AEG owns significant stakes in four professional sports teams and 12 sports arenas. Finally, AEG operates one of the largest concert promotion companies in the world, a business that is probably best known for operating the Coachella Music Festival.
In the 1970s Philip Anschutz earned significant profits from the oil business. In 1982 he sold a 50% stake in an oil field in Alaska called Prudhoe Bay to Mobil for $500 million. Two years later he paid $90 million to acquire the Rio Grande Railroad. In 1990 he paid $1.4 billion for the Southern Pacific Railroad. A key point in this deal was the right to lay fiber optic cable along the railroad. He consolidated his fiber optics business into a company called Qwest Communications which he took public. By the late 1990s Qwest's market cap reached north of $40 billion. Anschutz sold Qwest Communications in 2010 for $23 billion, earning himself a $4 billion windfall. Along the way he used Qwest dividends to acquire movie theater chains, forming Regal Entertainment which he took public in 2002. He also owns Windstar Cruises.
Today Philip Anschutz owns and controls companies in the areas of energy, real estate, telecommunications, and sports and entertainment, among other industries. Notably, he was integral in the development and expansion of Major League Soccer, and owned many of its teams. Among his myriad other business interests, Anschutz has invested in and owned oil companies, railroad networks, newspapers, performance venues, and film companies. He is one of the largest landowners in the United States. He is also a philanthropist who donated more than $100 million to establish the Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado in Aurora.
Early Life and Education
Philip Anschutz was born on December 28, 1939 in Russell, Kansas to Marian and oil tycoon and investor Frederick. He was educated at Wichita High School East, graduating in 1957. Subsequently, Anschutz attended the University of Kansas, from which he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business in 1961.
Land Acquisitions
In 1961, Anschutz bought out his father's oil-drilling company and earned large returns in Wyoming. He went on to purchase huge swaths of land with the returns. In 1970, Anschutz purchased the 250,000-acre Baughman Farms in Liberal, Kansas for $10 million. The next year, he bought nine million acres along the Wyoming-Utah border, launching his fortune in the oil business. This eventually resulted in the Anschutz Ranch and its billion-barrel oil pocket, the largest oil field discovery in the US since Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. Due to his numerous land acquisitions across the Western US, Anschutz became one of the 100 largest landholders in the country.
Railroads and Oil
Anschutz entered the railroad industry in 1984 when he bought Rio Grande Industries. Under his direction, the company acquired the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1988. In the 90s, the Southern Pacific merged with the Union Pacific Corporation, and Anschutz became the vice chairman of the company. Meanwhile, in the oil industry, he became a director of Forest Oil Corporation and a board member of the American Petroleum Institute and the National Petroleum Council.
Telecommunications
In 1996, Anschutz founded Qwest Communications, a telecommunications carrier that provided service to 14 states in the Western and Midwestern US. After receiving numerous customer complaints and being involved in accounting scandals, the company was acquired by CenturyLink in 2010 and made defunct in 2011.
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Sports and Entertainment
Many of Anschutz's biggest business investments have been in the areas of sports and entertainment, industries he began pursuing with the founding of the Anschutz Entertainment Group in 1994. The company stands as the world's largest owner of sports teams, events, and venues, and the second-largest presenter of live music and entertainment events. Through AEG Live, Anschutz owns the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He also owns the film company Walden Media, the movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group, and the Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs.
In the realm of sports, Anschutz was instrumental in the development of Major League Soccer and has owned several of its teams, including the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, and San Jose Earthquakes. He is credited with being integral in many MLS initiatives that have boosted the league's profits and revenues over the years. Beyond soccer, Anschutz is the principal owner of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and a minority owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Moreover, he owns stakes in such major indoor venues as the Staples Center and the O2 Arena.
Other Business Interests
Among his many other business interests, Anschutz has owned various newspapers, including the Oklahoman, the Gazette, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Weekly Standard. In 2005, he launched the conservative tabloid the Washington Examiner, and in 2006 launched the Baltimore Examiner. Elsewhere, Anschutz has invested in NRC Broadcasting, LightEdge Solutions, and the Power Company of Wyoming. He invested in the lattermost company with the aim of building the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind power complex in Carbon County.
Political Activity
A staunch conservative Christian, Anschutz opposes the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, and has donated to rightwing groups such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Federalist Society. During the 2016 elections, he contributed $1 million to conservatives.
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Anschutz is married to his wife Nancy, whom he met when he was 16. The couple has three children. Preferring to stay out of the public eye, Anschutz has only granted a few formal interviews since 1979.
Through the Anschutz Foundation, Anschutz and his wife have contributed more than $100 million to the University of Colorado School of Medicine, which is now located on the Anschutz Medical Campus, named in their honor. The two have also donated to the University of Kansas, of which they're both alums.
