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returnsas honoree ofPA News roastHICKSTom Hicks, a 1964 Thomas Jefferson graduate who is considered one of America’s leading power brokers in both the business and sports world, has agreedto return to Port Arthur as the honoree of the 10th Port ArthurNews Homecoming Roast.Hicks, 53, whose holdings include the TexasRangers baseball team and Dallas Stars hockey club, was recently listed amongthe 400 wt»aIthiest Americans by Forbes Magazine. Forbes estimated his personal wealth at$550 million, although there are those who believe it’s closer to abillion.The roast of Hicks is set for Saturday, May 20, at the Port Arthur Civic Center. Tables of eight, priced at $5,000, $2,500, $1,000 and $500 will be soldthrough Sam Monroe’s office(984-6100) at Lamar-Port Arthur. Roast proceeds will go to the Museum of the Gulf Coast. Previous roasts have raised over $600,000 for the museum.“I am elated that Tom Hickshas agreed to take time from his extremely busy schedule to become a part of our very distinguished fraternity of roastees,” Port Arthur News Sports Editor Bob West, the chairman of the event, said. “What this man has accomplished is absolutely mind boggling.Hicks’ ties to Port Arthur date back to when his father, John Hicks, purchased half-ownershipin radio station KOLE in 1959and moved his family here from Dallas. Tommy, as he was known then, attended Edison and TJ, worked as a disc jockey at KOLEunder the name Steve King andplayed football on Buckshot Underwood’s Yellow Jacket teams. He went on to earn a marketing degree from the University of Texas, then earned a master’s in business administration at the University of Southern California. Nearly bankrupt in the early 1980s, as a result of a downturn in the oil industry, he used a leveraged buyout of Dr Pepper in 1986 as the springboard tofame and fortune.Now CEO of Dallas-based Hicks, Muse, Tate Furst, Inc. — which specializes in buyouts, growing the value of companies it takes over, then reselling for aneyo-poppm# protit ~ Jlicitw’ empire includes:• AM/FM Inc., which encompasses 450-plus radio stations.• Regal Cinemas Inc., which oversees movie theatres with 234 screens. *• KXTV (Channel 39) in Dallas, as well as LIN Television Corp. and Sunrise TelevisionCorp.• Olympus Real Estate, which encompasses hotels, apartments, office buildings, shopping centers and Arnold Palmer golf properties.• Sports holdings such as the Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars and Mesquite Championship Rodeo.That’s just the tip of the iceberg in the ever-growing Hicks portfolio, and for Hicks Muse, which also has offices in NewYork City, St. Louis, Buenos Aires and London.Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, after appointing Hicks to the University of Texas Board of Regents, summed up his persona best by saying: “Who can compare with him? He’s got his fingers in so many pies.”Hicks, not surprisingly, was a major player while a UT regent. He was the moving force in getting massive renovations done at Royal-Memorial Stadium, took avery active role in hiring current football coach Mack Brown and served as chairman of the University of Texas Investment Man-See HICKS, page 2A
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Sun, Jan 23, 2000
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 24 Aug 2022
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