Rodney Ray Lewis, known as Rod Lewis (born 1954), is founder, president, and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Lewis Energy, an oil and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

drilling company based in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, US.

Biography

Lewis was born and raised on a

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

in Laredo in Webb County in South Texas. His father was a pilot in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

.Christopher Helman and Jesse Bogan, 'The Crossing', in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine, 08.07.0

He graduated from what is now Texas A&M International University in Laredo with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. He started his career in the oil industry by working for Stampede Energy and for the R.L. Burns Corporation. He purchased his first

oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas m ...

for $13,000 in 1982 and launched Lewis Energy the next year. In 1995, he borrowed $5 million from Enron Capital & Trade and repaid the loan in eight months. Alongside drilling in South Texas, he has drilled in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

for

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexico, Mexican State ownership, state-owned Petroleum industry, petroleum corporation managed and operated by the government of Mexico, ...

, and in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

for Hupecol Caracara and Solana Resources. In 2003, he sold much of his Texas

pipelines A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries around the world. The Un ...

to Dan Duncan, the CEO of

Enterprise Products Partners Enterprise Products Partners L.P. () is an American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas. It acquired GulfTerra in September 2004. The company ranked No. 105 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of ...

. He is the first American

wildcatter A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. Notable wildcatters include Glenn McCarthy, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., Mike Benedum, Joe Trees, Clem S. Clark ...

to drill in Mexico since former President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

made it illegal for anyone but the Mexican government to do so. ''

'' magazine called Lewis "the only gringo allowed to drill in Mexico." He can collect as much as $350 million annually from Pemex for drilling on 80,000 acres near the border. He does not own the oil or natural gas but is compensated for drilling the land. Lewis owns at least 350,000 acres of the Eagle Ford Shale property. In 2010,

British Petroleum BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the oil and gas " supermajors" and one of ...

began drilling on 80,000 acres of Eagle Ford Shale property that Lewis owns. As of March 2018, he is the 1,756th richest person in the world. He is worth US$1.3 billion. He collects

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era planes, and he owns 30, including Glacier Girl, which he bought for $10 million.Christopher Helman and Jesse Bogan, 'A Wildcatter in Love with Warbirds', in ''Forbes'' magazine, 08.13.0

Patrick Danner of ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

'' staff, "Lewis, wife marriage breakup", ''

Laredo Morning Times The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation. References *Odie Arambula, ''Laredo Morning Times'', June 14, 2006. External links ''Laredo Mornin ...

'', June 12, 2013, pp. 1, 10A Since 2012 or 2013 he is the owner of M5, the largest single-masted yacht ever built. Lewis and his wife, the former Kimberly Annette Spicer (born c. 1958), have four adult children. He also owns a ranch in Encinal north of Laredo. Lewis is a survivor of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

but lost his

salivary gland The salivary glands in many vertebrates including mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands ( parotid, submandibular, and sublingual), as well as hundreds of min ...

s in treatment. In March 2013, Mrs. Lewis filed for divorce in the Bexar County Courthouse. There is no mention of a pre-nuptial agreement, and Texas is a

community property Community property (United States) also called community of property (South Africa) is a marital property regime whereby property acquired during a marriage is considered to be owned by both spouses and subject to division between them in the e ...

state. At least thirteen lawsuits are involved in the Lewis' marital squabbles. Mrs. Lewis is asking that her husband pay her legal fees in the dispute. Rod Lewis stated in an interview that he loved his wife and that he had no intention of divorcing her. Lewis and she later reconciled and continue to attend public events together. The Rod and Kim Lewis Foundation donates grants to charitable organizations. Lewis provided the furnishing of the three-story Lewis Energy Academic Center, which opened in January 2012 on the campus of Laredo Community College. In August 2014, Lewis was named recipient of the annual Angel of Hope Award for his work in providing

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

gifts to needy children in Webb County. Angel of Hope was originated by the constable's office of Webb County Precinct 1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Rodney 1954 births Living people American billionaires American businesspeople in the oil industry Businesspeople from Texas Wildcatters Philanthropists from Texas Texas A&M International University alumni People from Laredo, Texas Businesspeople from San Antonio Ranchers from Texas