Philip Anschutz

Anschutz was born on December 28, 1939, in Russell, Kansas, and grew up in Wichita after his family moved there by way of Hays.⁠[1][2]

At six he sold Kool-Aid on a nearby college campus from a wheeled stand he had built; he started working at 14 and paid his way through the University of Kansas with summer jobs and waiting tables, graduating with a degree in finance.⁠[3][2]

He had planned to attend law school at the University of Virginia but instead stepped in when his father’s oil business ran into trouble. In 1961 he bought out his father’s drilling company, Circle A Drilling; within less than four years he made it stable and profitable, then sold its assets and dissolved it.⁠[2][1]

In 1965 Anschutz founded The Anschutz Corporation in Denver and entered the oil business.⁠[4][2]

In 1970 he bought Baughman Farms, a 250,000-acre farming operation in Kansas; in 1971 he acquired 9 million acres along the Utah–Wyoming border, which produced his first major fortune and led to the discovery of the Anschutz Ranch oil field.⁠[1]

By 1976 he held oil fields in Montana, Texas, Colorado and Wyoming and had invested in uranium and coal mines and cattle ranches; along the way he drilled a run of 30 dry wells that strained his credit. In the late 1970s he used new seismic technology on land in northern Utah, leading to one of the largest oil discoveries since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, much of which he sold to Mobil Oil.⁠[2]

In 1984 Anschutz bought Rio Grande Industries and later acquired the Southern Pacific Railroad.⁠[1]

He was chairman of Southern Pacific Rail Corporation until it was acquired by Union Pacific CorporationUnion PacificUnion Pacific Corporation is an Omaha-based U.S. railroad holding company whose Union Pacific Railroad runs freight trains in 23 western states. In 2025 it agreed to merge with Norfolk Southern.Open the full entry in 1996, and from 1996 served as vice chairman of Union Pacific. From 1995 he was also a director of Forest Oil Corporation.⁠[5]

Anschutz founded Qwest Communications International and was chairman of its board from 1993; after stepping down as non-executive chairman in June 2002 he remained a director. Anschutz Company, which he chairs and wholly owns, was Qwest’s largest stockholder.⁠[5][6][6]

From 1999 he was a director of Qwest Digital Media LLC, a joint venture between Qwest and Anschutz Company.⁠[5]

From March 2002 Anschutz was a director of the movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group.⁠[4]

On September 30, 2002, the New York State Attorney General sued Anschutz and four other telecom executives, alleging that they improperly profited from hot IPO shares allocated by Salomon Smith Barney in return for investment banking business; the complaint said Qwest executives received 57 IPO allocations from March 1996 through June 2001, with Anschutz making $5 million in profits. The Anschutz Corporation said at the time that “Anschutz never personally received any IPO allocations” and called the suit unfounded.⁠[7][8]

In May 2003 Anschutz settled with the New York Attorney General’s office without admitting or denying liability, agreeing to give up about $4.4 million to six law schools and nonprofit groups. Anschutz Company said: “We never steered Qwest investment banking business to Salomon Smith Barney.”⁠[9]

As of March 27, 2006, Anschutz beneficially owned 303,144,190 Qwest shares, 16.1 percent of the total, through his wholly owned Anschutz Company and Anschutz Family Investment Company LLC; at the time he was still non-executive vice chairman of Union Pacific and a director of Regal.⁠[6][6]

As of December 31, 2016, The Anschutz Corporation owned all of Regal Entertainment Group’s Class B common stock and controlled about 69.0 percent of its voting power.⁠[10]

On February 28, 2018, Regal completed its merger with Cineworld Group plc under an agreement dated December 5, 2017; Regal shareholders received $23.00 in cash per share and Regal became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Cineworld.⁠[11]

Anschutz is the majority owner of the NHLNHLThe National Hockey League (NHL) is a men’s professional ice hockey league with clubs in the United States and Canada. Founded in Montreal in 1917, it comprises 32 teams and awards the Stanley Cup to its playoff champion.Open the full entry’s Los Angeles KingsLos Angeles KingsThe Los Angeles Kings, also known as the LA Kings, are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) and play at Crypto.com Arena.Open the full entry, holds a stake in MLSMLSMajor League Soccer (MLS) is a top-flight professional soccer league comprising clubs in the United States and Canada. Play began in 1996, and the league has 30 clubs divided between Eastern and Western Conferences in 2026.Open the full entry’s LA GalaxyLA GalaxyLA Galaxy are a Major League Soccer club that began playing in 1996 and won their sixth MLS Cup in 2024. Their home is in Carson, California.Open the full entry and owns Crypto.com Arena, where the Kings play. His Anschutz Entertainment Group owns and operates more than 70 arenas and concert venues worldwide.⁠[3]

He co-founded Major League Soccer and several of its teams, including the LA Galaxy, and holds a stake in the NBANBAThe National Basketball Association (NBA) is a North American professional basketball league with 30 teams.Open the full entry’s Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an NBA basketball team based at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The club originated in Minneapolis in 1947.Open the full entry.⁠[1]

Anschutz aims to build one of the world’s biggest wind farms on 320,000 acres in Wyoming.⁠[3]

He established the Anschutz Foundation in 1964 to support community service, the arts and health. He and his wife, Nancy, gave more than $100 million to the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s campus in Aurora, now named the Anschutz Medical Campus.⁠[1]

In 2000 he received the Horatio Alger Award. He credits his success to innovation, leadership, persistence and surrounding himself with capable, ethical people, saying: “It is only by sticking to an objective through adversity that a goal can ever be realized.”⁠[2]

As of October 29, 2026, ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry estimated Anschutz’s net worth at $19.3 billion, listing energy, sports and entertainment as the sources of his wealth.⁠[3]

Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG): Official website: https://www.aegworldwide.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[12][3]