Harold Hamm: Founder of Continental Resources
Business Owner · Energy, Oil & Gas
Harold Hamm, the 13th child of Oklahoma cotton sharecroppers, became a wildcatter, founded Continental Resources in 1967 and pioneered development of the Bakken oil field.
About Harold Hamm: Founder of Continental Resources
Harold Glenn Hamm (born December 11, 1945, in Lexington, Oklahoma) is an American oil tycoon known for pioneering the use of hydraulic fracking of shale oil resources and the founder and chairman of Continental Resources. As of February 4, 2022 his net worth was estimated at US$18.5 billion, making him the 63rd wealthiest person in the world. In 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney named him his energy advisor, and he was a fundraiser and donor to Donald Trump's 2016, 2020 and 2024 campaigns. Hamm was the 13th and youngest child of cotton sharecroppers Jane Elizabeth Sparks and Leland Albert Hamm. At 16 he started working at a gas station to support his family and later mucked out oil tanks at a refinery, graduating from Enid High School in 1964. He started as a "wildcatter", oil-patch slang for someone who drills risky wells in unmapped geological formations hoping to discover oil, and after striking oil decided to complete his college education at Phillips University in Enid. In 1967 he founded Shelly Dean Oil Company, which later became Continental Resources and pioneered the development of the Bakken oil field in North Dakota. Sources: English Wikipedia (Harold Hamm, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Founder and chairman, Continental Resources
Company Details
Continental Resources
Oil and Gas Exploration, Shale Energy
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