Mystery Mogul

Denver Billionaire Anschutz and His LA Dreams

By Jonathan Weber, 7-23-06

The Los Angeles Times goes deep today on Denver business tycoon Phillip Anschutz, who in addition to his extensive interests in oil and gas, railroads, telecom (Qwest), movie theatres, film (Chronicles of Narnia), sports, and newspapers is also the central figure in a major redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles. The lengthy profile by Glenn Bunting has many good tidbits (his break-out deal in the oil business was a gamble on a Wyoming well fire) and goes to great lengths to find court cases and legal documents that will reveal Anschutz's methods and character. Unfortunately, the secretive mogul, who hasn't given an interview in more than 30 years, manages to remain pretty opaque, with few clues as to his inner motivations.

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