B M Rankin Jr

Private investor. Vice Chairman of the Board of the Company since 2001. Vice President Commissioner of PT Freeport Indonesia since 2001. Vice Chairman of the Board of McMoRan since 2001. Mack attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning a BBA in Accounting. He then proudly spent four years serving as a First Lieutenant, and eventually an Officer of Procurement in the United States Army during the implementation of The Marshall Plan while stationed in Germany after WWII. He learned the ins and outs of the oil business under expert tutelage at Hunt Oil Company, before teaming up with Jim Bob Moffett and the late Ken McWilliams to form McMoRan Oil, Inc. & McMoRan Exploration Company. In 1969, the company went public through exchange of stock with Horn Silver Mines and name changed to McMoRan Oil & Gas Company, a Delaware corporation, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1978. Rankin, from 1968 to 1975 held the position of President. From 1975 to 1977, he served as Co-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee. The team later merged with Freeport Minerals to become Freeport-McMoRan, while keeping McMoRan Exploration as a subsidiary company, and became the largest phosphate fertilizer and sulfur producer in the United States. Subsequently, in 1995, the company spun off Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc., which, in Indonesia, mines the largest known gold deposit in the world and the third largest Copper reserve, with over 15,000 employees. In 2007, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold bought Phelps Dodge, becoming the largest publicly traded Copper producer in the world, largest Molybdenum producer in the world and a major Cobalt and Gold Producer with 38,000 employees. Mr. Rankin retired from active management in 1977, and continued to serve in the capacities of Vice Chairman of the Board and Consultant to the Company, and Member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and major shareholder until his passing. His directorships in business include seats on the boards of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc., McMoRan Exploration Inc., and P.T. Freeport Indonesia. He sat also as Chairman of the U.S. Oil & Gas Association. A media favorite, Mack became well-known as the outspoken co-owner of the Texas Rangers during the baseball team's struggles in the early 1980s. He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Ashley Scott Rankin; one son, Richard Rankin, two grandchildren, Hailey and Hunter Rankin; one stepson, Ashton Smith, stepdaughter-in-law, Karen Smith, two stepgrandchildren, Samantha and Scott Smith, and one brother-in-law, Hammond Scott and his wife, Wendy. He also leaves one sibling, his brother Sam Rankin and his wife, Ginger. Rankin was formerly married to Opal Cook Rankin, of Gladewater, Texas.