- Known in his time as “The King of the Wildcatters,” this oil tycoon engaged in diverse and aggressive investments across many different sectors, leading to a series of financial ups and downs throughout his career.
- His extravagant lifestyle and perfect embodiment of the rags-to-riches Texas oil millionaire catapulted him to national notoriety.
- The grand opening of his Shamrock Hotel is known to this day as, “Houston’s biggest party.”
- His charismatic and larger than life personality inspired the fictional character of Jett Rink in Edna Ferber’s book, Giant, later adapted into a film starring James Dean as the title Wildcatter.
“He was known as a man who could drill a well in half the time it would take a major oil company, a man inclined to raise his fists at every affront whether large, small or imaginary … but he could charm Lady Godiva off her horse.”
-Geologist Michel Halbouty on McCarthy