Smith is the founder and chief executive of Freeport LNG, the second-largest liquefied natural gas company in the US based on production capacity. The Houston, Texas-based group can liquefy and export more than 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Smith also founded Basin Exploration before it was sold for $410 million in 2001.
Michael Smith's net worth of $6.23B can buy ...
... and is equivalent to ...
The majority of Smith's fortune is derived from his majority stake in Freeport LNG Development, the second-largest liquefied natural gas company in the U.S. based on production capacity. The Houston, Texas-based firm has enough capacity to liquefy and export 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day, according to its website.
Former co-owner Global Infrastructure Partners agreed to sell 25.7% of Freeport LNG for $2.5 billion, according to a November 2021 press release. The deal valued Freeport LNG at $9.7 billion. Smith retains about 63% of the closely held company, according to its website in July 2022. His stake is valued in this analysis based on the 2021 transaction.
Heather Browne, a spokesperson for Smith, declined to comment on the net worth calculation.
Smith was six credits shy of a degree from Colorado State University in 1978 when he decided to drop out “to ski,” according to a university magazine article. While working in real estate, Smith and some associates leased land near the site of a recent natural gas discovery in Colorado and soon began fielding offers to drill wells on the land, according to the Houston Business Journal.
Smith founded Basin Exploration in 1981 and served as its chairman and chief executive officer. Basin later went public and was sold for $410 million to Stone Energy in 2001.
Smith founded Freeport LNG in 2002. He originally wanted to use it to import liquefied natural gas, but as U.S. oil and gas production grew in the 2010s Smith repurposed its infrastructure to export LNG.