George Roberts

Wildcatter vs. CEO: the parable from Barbarians at the Gate

Sam reads the passage where KKR founder George Roberts' father contrasts a Humble Oil chairman (50,000 employees, long days, a modest pension) with a scrappy wildcatter (30 employees, oil fields pumping while he sleeps, worth $5M) and asks: which would you rather be?

“The wildcatter, on the other hand, had maybe 30 employees, several dozen oil fields that pumped away while he slept, and was probably worth $5 million. Now, who would you rather be? Lou Roberts asked his son.”