CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal tycoon Chris Cline, who worked his way out of West Virginia's underground mines to amass a fortune and become a major Republican donor, died in a helicopter crash outside a string of islands he owned in the Bahamas.
Cline and his 22-year-old daughter Kameron were on board the aircraft with five others when it went down Thursday, a spokesman for his attorney Brian Glasser said Friday.
The death of the 60-year-old magnate led to eulogies from industry leaders, government officials and academics, who described Cline as a visionary who was generous with his $1.8 billion fortune.
"He was a very farsighted entrepreneur," said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. "Chris was just one of those folks who had the Midas touch."
Raney said Cline began toiling in the mines of southern West Virginia a young age, rising through the ranks of his father's company quickly.
He formed his own energy development business, the Cline Group, which grew into one of the country's top coal producers.
When he thought mining in the Appalachian region was drying up, he started buying reserves in the Illinois Basin in what turned out to be a smart investment in high sulfur coal, according to the website of Missouri-based Foresight Energy, a company he formed.
Cline sold most of his interest in Foresight for $1.4 billion and then dropped $150 million into a metallurgical coal mine in Nova Scotia, according to a 2017 Forbes article titled, "Chris Cline Could Be The Last Coal Tycoon Standing."
The piece captured his opulent lifestyle: A mansion in West Virginia with a man-made lake big enough to water ski on and a pasture that included a white stallion stud named Fabio. A gun collection so deep that federal officials would take stock once a month. A 200-foot yacht called Mine Games.
His deep pockets eventually opened to politics: He donated heavily to President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Cline gave the president's inaugural committee $1 million in 2017 and shared thousands more with conservative groups as well as committees representing Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., according to federal records.
He also gave to academia, bestowing at least $8.5 million on Marshall University in West Virginia.
"Our hearts are heavy," said Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert. "Chris's generosity to our research and athletics programs has made a mark on Marshall University and our students for many years to come."
Authorities began searching for the copter after police received a report from Florida that Cline's helicopter failed to arrive in Fort Lauderdale as expected on Thursday, Bahamas Police Superintendent Shanta Knowles told The Associated Press.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael Weissenstein of The Associated Press.
Business on 07/06/2019