Philip Anschutz got his start in the oil and gas business, buying out his father’s drilling company in 1961, when he was in his early 20s. He later sold the firm and started Anschutz Exploration Co. Today, Anschutz ranks as the 22nd-biggest landowner in the U.S. with 434,500 acres to his name.
Anschutz's energy business acumen extends from the 1 billion-barrel oil field he discovered on his Utah ranch in the 1980s to the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, expected to become North America's largest wind farm when completed by Power Company of Wyoming — an affiliate of The Anschutz Corp.
His empire includes oil fields, the LA Kings and a one-third interest in the LA Lakers as well as a wide range of media properties, including Regal Entertainment Group. With sports teams come sports facility holdings. AEG owns, controls or is affiliated with more than a dozen stadiums, sports centers and entertainment venues, including LA's Staples Center, PlayStation Theater in Times Square, BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and centers in China and Australia.
More recently, Anschutz has been selectively buying and preserving historic hotels, including The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, which is owned through a family trust.
He has given $1B to his family foundation and has given some 400 works of art to the American Museum of Western Art in Denver. — Scott Klocksin and Allison Nagel
