1. Chris Cline was an American coal baron and philanthropist.
21 Facts About Chris Cline
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Chris Cline had been the majority owner of Foresight Reserves LP, headquartered in St Louis, Missouri.
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Chris Cline's company has over three billion tons of coal reserves across Illinois and northern Appalachian Mountains.
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Chris Cline was born in Beckley, West Virginia, on July 5,1958.
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Chris Cline's grandfather mined for coal with a pickaxe around Beckley, West Virginia, in the early 20th century.
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Chris Cline dug the dirt from under the porch of their bungalow in Isaban, West Virginia.
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In 1980, Chris Cline's father bought out his partner then gave the shares to Chris Cline, who was then 21 years old.
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Chris Cline studied psychology at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
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In 1980 at age 22, Chris Cline became an underground miner.
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Chris Cline founded his own energy development company, the Cline Group in 1990.
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Chris Cline sold off most of his share of Foresight in 2015, for $1.4 billion.
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Chris Cline, who spent $300 million on mining rights and equipment in Illinois in the 1990s, had foreseen that the United States Environmental Protection Agency would require power plants to use scrubbers in removing pollutants, which would bring coal back into viability for electricity generation.
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In 2005, Chris Cline Group built its Williamson longwall mining operation south of West Frankfort, Illinois.
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Chris Cline SNL Financial reported in 2008 that Deer Run coal mine in Montgomery County, Illinois, a project of Cline's Hillsboro Energy LLC, would produce up to eight million tons annually until 2016.
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Chris Cline purchased a Nova Scotia metallurgical coal mine after selling off Foresight stock, as well as rights to coal reserves in Western Canada.
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Chris Cline owned a 33,413-square-foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida, and a home in his native Beckley, West Virginia, with a 150-acre property.
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Chris Cline was a charter member of Brenton Southern Baptist Church.
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Chris Cline had a relationship with Elin Nordegren, ex-wife of golfer Tiger Woods.
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Chris Cline sold the yacht in 2013, later purchasing another 205-foot larger luxury yacht that he christened "Mine Games".
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In 2015, Jasper Reserves, LLC, owned by Chris Cline, donated one million dollars to Super PACs supporting the presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush.
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On July 4,2019, Chris Cline died in a helicopter crash in Grand Cay, Bahamas.