AKA Philip Frederick Anschutz

Born: 28-Dec-1939
Birthplace: Great Bend, KS

Gender: Male
Religion: Presbyterian [1]
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business
Party Affiliation: Republican

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Qwest billionaire

Net worth $5B, but may have been as high as $18B at the height of the bubble. His fortune started when, as a wildcatter, he hit a large oil deposit in Gillette, Wyoming. Unfortunately, it caught fire. Universal was then filming a biopic on Red Adair, and he convinced the company to pay $100,000 for the privilege of putting out his fire. Another wildcat find in Utah -- one billion barrels -- put him and his father in the $500M bracket. This money he invested in railroads, and out of their cross-country rights-of-way he formed Qwest Communications.

Since then, Anschutz has pulled back from Qwest, and he is presently investing in entertainment ventures. He owns a handful of American professional soccer teams, the San Francisco Examiner (though now a mere shell of what the great paper once was), and most importantly, is now dabbling in moralistic filmmaking. He made Holes which quickly grossed $67M, and Because of Winn-Dixie, which grossed over $30M. A Sound of Thunder bucked this trend, making only $6M despite a budget some ten times that. Additionally he purchased the rights to C. S. Lewis' highly-allegoric Narnia works, and has great hopes for the first film from that series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which will be made with Disney's help. None of these films receive "R" ratings, and some of them have strong religious undertones. Anschutz thinks this is exactly what the "red states" want right now.

    High School: (Wichita, KS)
    University: BS Economics, University of Kansas, Lawrence (1961)
    Law School: University of Virginia Law School (dropped out)

    Qwest Founder (1996-2010)
    Union Pacific Vice Chairman
    Member of the Board of Union Pacific (1996-2006)
    Member of the Board of Southern Pacific (1988-96, as Chairman, -1996)
    Member of the Board of Qwest (as Chairman, 1993-2002)
    Academy of Achievement Patron
    American Petroleum Institute Board of Directors
    Americans for Truth in Politics
    America's Foundation
    Bush-Quayle '92
    Discovery Institute
    Elizabeth Dole Committee
    Elizabeth Dole for President
    Ensign for Senate
    Friends of Senator D'Amato 1998 Committee
    George W. Bush for President
    Kennedy Center Trustee Emeritus
    McCain 2000
    McCain for Senate '98
    National Petroleum Council
    National Republican Senatorial Committee
    Pete Coors for Senate
    Reagan-Bush '84
    Romney for President
    Santorum 2006
    The Western Way PAC
    American Museum of Natural History Honorary trustee

Appears in articles:
The Atlantic, May-2005, DETAILS: The Apocalypse, Rated PG, BYLINE: Ross Douthat
The New York Times, 22-Apr-2007, DETAILS: Goal! He Spends It on Beckham: Phil Anschutz Bets on Star Power, and Everything Else, BYLINE: Graham Bowley

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