T. Boone Pickens says 'know your limitations' and do only what you are good at

T. Boone Pickens has donated more than $1 billion over his career to medical research, youth programs, entrepreneurs, education, and conservation efforts.

But the 88-year-old founder of BP Capital Management doesn't pretend he's someone he's not.

Shortly after Pickens spoke at the 2016 Concordia Summit in New York, Business Insider asked him, "What is the number-one thing keeping you up at night?"

"Typically it's some idea to make money," he said. "And a lot of them have paid off - for me and so many other employees and the various charitable entities I have supported to the tune of more than $1 billion. I'd like to say I wake up thinking about solving global poverty or fighting for world peace. Let others worry about that."

In his Concordia talk with moderator Tom Brokaw, Pickens explained that his business and philanthropy approaches are the same: Recognize what you're good at and only do that, hiring talented people to take care of everything you would do at a lower level.

"I know my limitations," he told us.

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