Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, better known as H.L. Hunt, was born on February 17, 1889, in Illinois. After striking it rich in El Dorado, Arkansas—only to lose his fortune—he used his last $109 and a loan from a local clothier to purchase wells from Columbus "Dad" Joiner on November 26, 1930. Leveraging his own pipeline, Hunt capitalized on the rapid expansion of the East Texas Oil Field, propelling himself to oil industry dominance. By 1932, Hunt Production owned 900 wells in East Texas.