Richard Kinder was born on the 19th October 1944, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA and is a businessman, widely known as a co-founder as well as the executive chairman of Kinder Morgan, Inc., North America’s largest energy infrastructure company which specializes in owning and controlling gas terminals and pipelines.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this veteran entrepreneur has accumulated so far? How rich Richard Kinder is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total amount of Richard Kinder’s net worth, as of early 2017, exceeds the sum of $11 billion, acquired largely through his gas and energy industry corporation which was founded in 1997.
Richard Kinder Net Worth $11 Billion
Richard Kinder attended the University of Missouri from which he both graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in1966, and later in 1968 obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence title. Upon graduation he joined the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and in which he served to the rank of Captain. Richard Kinder’s first professional engagement in business was the position of an attorney within Florida Gas Transmission, which after a series of mergers in 1985 was subsumed by the Enron Corporation, founded by Richard’s college friend, Kenneth Lay. Between 1990 and 1996, Richard Kinder served as Enron Corporation’s president and Chief Operation Officer, which provided a significant basis for Kinder’s now impressive, overall net worth.
After resigning from Enron Corp – which later became the subject of one of the largest fraud and banktuprcy cases in US history – Richard Kinder alongside William V. Morgan, co-founded Kinder Morgan, Inc. After 2001 Enron Corporation’s scandalous bankruptcy, Kinder Morgan, Inc. bought part of it for around $40 million. After a series of smart investments and buys, such as the acquisition of El Paso Corporation for $70 million, Kinder Morgan, Inc. under the chairmanship of Richard Kinder positioned itself as the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. From a small firm with 175 employees, it became a $billion giant corporation with over 12,000 employees, almost 84,000 miles (135,184 km) of pipelines and with over 180 terminals in its possession. All these successful business ventures contributed to the overall size of Richard Morgan’s wealth by a significant amount.
Until June 2015, Richard Kinder served as the company’s Central Executive Officer, and currently serves as Executive Chairman of Kinder Morgan, Inc with an annual salary of $1 (yes, you read it well – only $1). For his guidance of the company, Richard was honored with Morningstar’s CEO of the Year award. Doubtlessly, these engagements provided the majority of Richard Kinder’s enormous overall wealth.
In the past, Richard Kinder has served as a member of the board for several other profitable corporations such as Transocean, Waste Management, Baker Hughes as well as the Smithsonian Institution and Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. Nowadays, he is the board of trustees’ chairman of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas as well as the chairman of his own Kinder Foundation which he established in 1997. Richard’s foundation is focused on funding and developing art, education and general quality of life in the area of Houston, and so far has contributed over $290 million.
When it comes to his personal life, Richard Kinder has married twice, firstly to Anne, but they divorced in 1996 after having a son. With his second wife, Nancy Kinder he currently resides in Houston, Texas.
