by Bill Hethcock – Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal
Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is clearly a man who knows a good deal when he sees one.
That’s why he used a collaborative divorce approach in his recent parting of ways from his fourth wife, Madeleine.
Pickens told a room full of lawyers about his experience Friday during a lunchtime panel in Dallas.
The State Bar of Texas didn’t let me into the room for his talk, saying it was a paid, private event, but I was able to grab a couple of comments from Pickens on the way out of the Hotel Palomar.
The collaborative approach saves both money and emotional wear and tear on families, the energy tycoon told me.
“Collaborative law keeps everything on a high level, and everybody cooperating,” Pickens said.
I asked him how much the collaborative approach saved him?
“Money?” he deadpanned. “About $100 million.”
He cracked a smile and revised his answer to “several million.”
Pickens is such a believer in the process that he gave the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas $100,000.
Pickens, who’s fond of saying “the first billion is the hardest,” said his second divorce was the toughest. He didn’t use the collaborative approach on that one.
Any chance he’ll marry again, I asked, feeling a bit funny about raising the question.
“No plans,” Pickens said as he walked out of the hotel, “but don’t rule it out.”
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