Wealthiest Family

[G.Walker]

I was wondering, who is the richest family in Oklahoma City, that has had a positive influence on Oklahoma City's renaissance over the years?

The Kirkpatrick's?
The Gaylord's?

[OSUFan]

I would think the Nichols might be up there.

[metro]

On the Renaissance, I'd say neither, now influential overall I'd say those two, but Nichols and Steve Mason have done more ro the renaissance than those two.

[OKCTalker]

Ron Norick.

[Snowman]

McClendon's are certainly a possibility

[Kerry]

My vote is for Public; John Q. Public.

[Dustin]

Do the Gaylord's even live here?

[Patrick]

Do the Gaylord's even live here?

Nichols Hills.

[Patrick]

I'd vote for the public. We the public, who funded the MAPS projects.

[Spartan]

Yeah. OKC doesn't really have wealthy families honestly...

Go to Tulsa for that kind of hierarchy. They have it big-time.

[BoulderSooner]

Yeah. OKC doesn't really have wealthy families honestly...

Go to Tulsa for that kind of hierarchy. They have it big-time.

one of your worst coments on the board ever ..... you have no idea

[progressiveboy]

Yeah. OKC doesn't really have wealthy families honestly...

Go to Tulsa for that kind of hierarchy. They have it big-time.

Source?

[bombermwc]

Yeah totally wrong Spartan.

I'm wondering if this statement is based on the "wealthiest zip code" thing. So Tulsa might be in the #1 slot, but that's only because in OKC, the wealthy aren't concentrated in one area...they are VERY distributed. Yeah there are some pockets of higher income in places like Nichols Hills or Gallardia, but most of the high high income folks aren't in one area. Take a look at where McClendon built his new villa....it's not even IN a subdivision.

Ever drive around up near the Turner Turpike in far NE OKC? You'll find yourself some AMAZING land out there. Everywhere you go in any suburb or any quadrant of the city, you'll see massively amazing homes. You don't get those by askin "would you like fried with that".

Back to Tulsa, they simply chose long ago that class distinction was incredibly important and that an address meant more than anything. So you saw the city segregate itself into "classes". Tulsa's history is full of that kind of crap....and not just by growth patterns. In OKC, the exact opposite happened. There were SHORT lived times when the wealthy here liked to be near each other, but again, that didn't last. Outside of Gallardia, you aren't going to find a concentration of multi-million dollar homes.....people choose to live outside of those controlled communities when they have money in OKC.

[BG918]

Nichols Hills is full of wealthy OKC families. That is probably where the highest concentration of wealth is located. The eastern edge is very distinct though, as you leave Nichols Hills across Western it changes dramatically.

[Kerry]

I think Spartan meant old-world, multi-generational, blue-blood, aristocrat money. Not "I started with $10 and made a billion" types. Think more Kennedy and less Ted Turner.

[Swake2]

..

[andy157]

Nichols Hills is full of wealthy OKC families.

OKC families ?

[Dustin]

Don't forget Gaillardia.

[soonerliberal]

My vote is for Public; John Q. Public.

I would second that.

[Spartan]

one of your worst coments on the board ever ..... you have no idea

Wow, seriously? When was the last time the Kirkpatrick's dominated city issues?

That extremely wealthy people live in Nichols Hills (which by the way gets unimpressive BEFORE Western) and in other pockets throughout the metro is completely irrelevant to this. That a few extremely wealthy men dominate OKC politics behind the scenes is also completely irrelevant to this.

You guys completely misunderstood this topic. BoulderSooner, you're in left field. Bomber, you're rambling about something that's irrelevant to this thread.

G.Walker suggested the Kirkpatricks and Gaylords, neither of whom are really important any more. Hell, Christie (sp?) Everest-Gaylord isn't even the top local power broker that happens to office in the Dark Tower. Kirkpatricks? Go to Tulsa and you'll see a city that is still dominated by incredibly wealthy families that have stored up their money over generations. Like the Skellys, Chapmans, Bartletts, Kaisers, Stevensons, Helmerichs, and other big-time names in Tulsa..

Wealthy families are old money. Old money runs Tulsa. Individuals that hit it big are new money. New money runs OKC.

[MikeOKC]

Wow, seriously? When was the last time the Kirkpatrick's dominated city issues?

That extremely wealthy people live in Nichols Hills (which by the way gets unimpressive BEFORE Western) and in other pockets throughout the metro is completely irrelevant to this. That a few extremely wealthy men dominate OKC politics behind the scenes is also completely irrelevant to this.

You guys completely misunderstood this topic. BoulderSooner, you're in left field. Bomber, you're rambling about something that's irrelevant to this thread.

G.Walker suggested the Kirkpatricks and Gaylords, neither of whom are really important any more. Hell, Christie (sp?) Everest-Gaylord isn't even the top local power broker that happens to office in the Dark Tower. Kirkpatricks? Go to Tulsa and you'll see a city that is still dominated by incredibly wealthy families that have stored up their money over generations. Like the Skellys, Chapmans, Bartletts, Kaisers, Stevensons, Helmerichs, and other big-time names in Tulsa..

Wealthy families are old money. Old money runs Tulsa. Individuals that hit it big are new money. New money runs OKC.

I agree with you, Spartan. The "new money" thing is intriguing here in OKC. Who do you think they are? I hear McClendon mentioned in this group and that's far from truth. It escapes many people that McClendon is part of the Kerr family - as "old money" as one can get in Oklahoma City.

I'm curious who you'd name - just 4 or 5. No particular order.

[Kerry]

New Money - Love and Green.

[adaniel]

OKC has never struck me as having a lot of "old money" either, at least not as much as other cities this size. By most historical standards this city is fairly new. Western and Central Oklahoma for the longest and even now has been dominated by oil and cattle. Most of the oil fields around OKC were administered by companies and people in Dallas, Tulsa, Houston, etc. And most of the big time cattlemen in this state tend to stick near their ranches, not move into the city.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most wealthy households in the metro areas made their money after 1970, about when the first energy boom kicked off.

So to answer the OP, its probably hard to pin down who is excatly the wealthiest family in town, simply because most wealthy people around here not named Gaylord lack the "blue blood" type mentality or are pretty low key altogether. And bomber has a point. The fact that most monied households are NOT in Nichols Hills kind of proves this.

Also, I could be completely off but is it something of a stretch to label the Kerrs as an OKC family? Sure Robert S. Kerr was a big player in OKC but wasn't that family largely from the Little Dixie area?

[MikeOKC]

New Money - Love and Green.

That's 2 good "new money" families for sure.

[Kerry]

That's 2 good "new money" families for sure.

Let me also add Hamm to the 'new money' list. Growing up Hamm's family didn't have two nickles to rub together.

so that makes Love Green Hamm.