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Bloomberg: The Incredible Rise and Final Hours of Fracking King Aubrey McClendon

March 25, 2016 Mark Curriden

© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.

Staff Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 25) – Chesapeake Energy co-founder Aubrey McClendon was a visionary who had trouble following the rules, according to an in-depth report by Bloomberg Businessweek.

The magazine, which is on sale now, says that McClendon pushed his way into shale drilling that “revolutionized the global energy business and made him a billionaire. His disdain for convention attracted regulatory scrutiny, angered shareholders, and cost him his job running the company he built.”

In a lengthy report by Bloomberg writers Bryan Gruley, Joe Carroll and Asjylyn Loder, the magazine tracks McClendon’s career and his last few days.

On Feb. 27, McClendon watched from his front row seat as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry nailed a long three-point jump shot at the buzzer to defeat his Thunder.

Three days later, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had indicted McClendon on criminal antitrust charges.

The next morning, “McClendon slipped his security detail and climbed into his 2013 Chevy Tahoe,” Bloomberg reports. “He drove north along a lonesome two-lane stretch of Midwest Boulevard, toward the prairie-scrub city edge. Threading a path through thick, bushy trees bordering both sides of the road, with virtually no shoulder, McClendon had little room to maneuver. He picked up speed, traveling well above the posted limit of 50 miles per hour.”

A little after 9 a.m., McClendon crashed in the concrete supports for a highway overpass. Law enforcement, the magazine states, is still investigating whether the tragedy was an accident or suicide.

To read the full Bloomberg article, click here.

© 2014 The Texas Lawbook. Content of The Texas Lawbook is controlled and protected by specific licensing agreements with our subscribers and under federal copyright laws. Any distribution of this content without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.

If you see any inaccuracy in any article in The Texas Lawbook, please contact us. Our goal is content that is 100% true and accurate. Thank you.

Mark Curriden

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Dallas Morning News.

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©2025 The Texas Lawbook.

Content of The Texas Lawbook is controlled and protected by specific licensing agreements with our subscribers and under federal copyright laws. Any distribution of this content without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.

If you see any inaccuracy in any article in The Texas Lawbook, please contact us. Our goal is content that is 100% true and accurate. Thank you.

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