He came from a prominent Oklahoma family. His great uncle, Robert Kerr, was the state's twelfth governor.
Source: Forbes
McClendon was voted class president and was the valedictorian of the Heritage Hall school in Oklahoma City.
Source: Foundation OKCPS
McClendon then attended Duke University, where he majored in history and minored in accounting. There is now a dorm there named after his family.
Source: Duke Today
The couple moved back to Oklahoma, where McClendon got a job working for his uncle as a landman.
Source: Foundation OKCPS
But he ended up striking out on his own as a wildcatter, founding Chesapeake in 1989.
Source: Foundation OKCPS
He took the company public in 1993. The stock rose 274% in value from 1994 to 1997, "dwarfing the rise in most energy stocks," the WSJ reported.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Over the next 20 years, Chesapeake would be known for its "land machine." The company would flip and drill land across Texas and Oklahoma.
In the meantime, McClendon pursued a variety of other interests such as wine and vintage maps.
He once proposed that Forbes' Chris Helman and he split a $10,000 of Lafite Rothschild. He also built up a collection of vintage Tex and Oklahoma maps worth $12 million.
Source: Forbes
He was also part of the ownership group that brought the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City.
Source: Forbes
By 2008, he was the best-paid CEO in the S&P 500 with a pay package worth $112.5 million, including a $75 million bonus.
Source: AP via NBC News
From its height of nearly $70 in the summer of 2008, the stock collapsed 75% over the next six months.
Instead of attempting to sell assets to raise cash, McClendon decided to borrow heavily from Wall Street.
In 2012, a Reuters investigation revealed a potential conflict of interest in McClendon's compensation arrangement. He was forced to step down as chairman of Chesapeake's board.
The company did an internal investigation of its Founder Well Participation Program, which granted McCledon exclusive rights to company wells. The program was eventually suspended, but the business said that it found no misconduct.
Source: Reuters, Business Insider
On January 29, 2013, Chesapeake announced McClendon would be stepping down as CEO.
"Federal regulators and Chesapeake's board [were] both looking into whether McClendon, [then]-53, blurred the line between his personal dealings and those of the company, and into possible antitrust violations," Reuters reported at the time.
Source: Reuters
On March 1, 2016, McClendon was indicted with conspiracy to rig bids for oil and natural gas leases. Allegedly, he and other companies colluded to figure out who win bids. McClendon maintained his innocence.
He issued the following statement:
“The charge that has been filed against me today is wrong and unprecedented. I have been singled out as the only person in the oil and gas industry in over 110 years since the Sherman Act became law to have been accused of this crime in relation to joint bidding on leasehold. Anyone who knows me, my business record and the industry in which I have worked for 35 years, knows that I could not be guilty of violating any antitrust laws. All my life I have worked to create jobs in Oklahoma, grow its economy, and to provide abundant and affordable energy to all Americans. I am proud of my track record in this industry, and I will fight to prove my innocence and to clear my name.”
Source: Business Insider
One day later, on March 2, 2016 McClendon died in a single car accident.
The accident took place around 9:00 a.m. According to officials, the car was going very fast.
Source: Business Insider
Upon finding out that he passed away on Wednesday, energy magnate T. Boone Pickens said that McClendon was a "true American entrepreneur."
The full statement released by Pickens:
“I’ve known Aubrey McClendon for nearly 25 years. He was a major player in leading the stunning energy renaissance in America. He was charismatic and a true American entrepreneur. No individual is without flaws, but his impact on American energy will be long-lasting.”
Source: T. Boone Pickens