Evening star., 1960-04-03
OF n. L. HUNT
By SAUL PETIT
Associated Press Staff Writer

DALLAS IeX.-On weekday
mornings. he drives himself down.
town. He parks his car three
blocks from the Office to save so
cents in parking fees.
He carries his lunch from home
in brown paper sack.
He is dressed less impressively
than nine out of 10 businessmen
you meet, including those on their
way to bankruptcy court. His suits
usually are store-bought, not Gus
tom-tailored. On occasion he
wears the wrong suit jacket while
the right one is being repaired for
battle fatigue.
BY the improbable standards
usually attributed to his kind in
Texas. he lives life of stringent
austerity. He owns no yachts or
private planes. has no chauffeur
for his four cars, and maintains
only two homes-one at a profit.
He is something less than an
oStentatious Upper.
He has his own comb-trimmer
but frequently allows his wispy
white hair to grow long at the
temples and back of the neck.
With his hair long, with those
blue-gray eyes and that general
look Of gentle yearning, he sug-
gests a struggling unknown au-
thor, which he is, in a manner
of speaking.
When he travels. he flies COM
mercial. Away from home, he
often is irritated by food prices.
Il feel" he says, like a sucker
paying So for a hotel breakfast"
At home at night, he personally
goes around the house turning off
lights.
Thrift and Wealth
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, at
II one of the richest men in the
world, is thrifty and admits it.
He sees, not a contradiction, but
a connection between thrift and
great wealth. Estimates of his
fortune range from $400 million
to 50 billion. Estimates of his
weekly income range from 81 mil
lion before taxes to 81 million after
taxes.
How much is H. L. Hunt really
worth? In financial circles, this
question is even bigger than what
is Jack Paar really like.
Mr.. Hunt, himself, isn't telling.
He smiles at estimates, neither
confirming nor denying. He does
not appear outraged by either the
high or low guesses. He implies
it's ridiculous to draw up lists Of
the worlds richest men but seems
to be aware of the published rank
ings, including the latest which
places him second to J. Paul Getty,
another oil baron.
Pinned down, he says he has no
way of knowing what others are
worth, doesn't really care, and
what's more. he says. he has no
accurate way of knowing his own
worth.
But during a rare series Of
interviews at Mount Vernon, Mr..
Hunts outsize model of WASH
ington's home. the country's big
gest independent oil producer did
drop these scattered clues:
I'VE are proud Of our produc-
ton. During the war, we Hunts
produced more oil than Germany
produced or had access to, includ-
ing Romania. . -
Our net profit shared by Hunt.
four sons and two daughters)
from oil leases at Cotton Valley,
La, has been about so million dol
lars in the last 20 years and 1t will
go on producing another rs or 30
years. ="
e. Our net profit from oil
leases at Duck Lake, La. will be
around 100 million in the next 20,
Is years, and we've had it about
six years.
1--WE have at least several other
leases of this size. :"
MY boys have IL million acres
in Libya and they're beginning to
return a fantastic production"
Wide Business Interests
The Hunts have business in
terests in Is or 20 States (he