Word: mecom
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...sports-minded population, explains why the N.F.L.'s Commissioner Rozelle is so anxious to beat the upstart A.F.L. into Georgia. The stronger N.F.L. has already lined up equally prestigious backers to support a franchise. Among the members of a syndicate dickering for a team: Texas Oilman John Mecom Jr., Indianapolis Speedway Owner Tony Hulman, Coca-Cola Heir Lindsey Hopkins Jr. So far, Atlanta's Stadium Authority has been playing it cozy, says only that no decision on rental rights will be made until July...
Drill a Little Deeper. Understandably eager for oil, little Jordan celebrated the spudding in of Mecom's first well in the olive groves and rolling hills north of Hebron. Mecom was banqueted by King Hussein, in turn entertained Jordanian officials with a dinner party at the new Jerusalem Intercontinental Hotel on the Mount of Olives. The jaunty young King spilled oil ceremonially over the rig, and a dozen lambs were slaughtered and sent to the poor in a good-luck ritual...
...Mecom, who is investing $5,000,000 in the Jordan venture, is depending on a good deal more than luck, although he seems to have his share of that. In a business in which one wildcat well in nine comes in and one field in 44 pays off, Mecom has hit on three tries out of five and profited on two wells out of three. "We go into places where oil has been searched for before," he says. "We just try new methods, maybe drill a little deeper...
...University of Oklahoma graduate who studied geology and petroleum engineering, Mecom keeps twelve geologists and three geophysicists at work in his search, makes all the final decisions himself. He maintains a fleet of 27 airplanes and a private navy that includes a converted LST, three oceangoing tugs and a 5,000-ton freighter named Little John. Mecom lives with his wife and two daughters (he also has a married son) in a Frenchlike chateau in Houston, owns three cattle ranches and a private zoo of lions, zebras, gazelles and camels. A man who hardly hesitates before he plows $120 million...
Hedged Bets. In spite of his spectacular spending and steady success in the oilfields, Mecom is conservative enough to hedge his bets with other investments. He bought half of the new San Francisco Hilton for $14.5 million, has spent another $10.4 million on the Warwick Hotel in Houston, owns the 425-room Gran Hotel Bolivar in Lima, Peru. He also controls a New Jersey company that turns out the fast-selling Boonton plastic tableware. Another holding: Houston's Reed Roller Bit Co., which Mecom hopes eventually to make into an oil-equipment supply company rivaling the Hughes Tool...