http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/20/MNGSF54RDN1.DTL"He's a very religious man -- it's very important to him,'' said Martin Fridson, a Wall Street specialist in the high-yield bond market who included a chapter on Anschutz in his book, "How To Be a Billionaire.''
The Anschutz Co. was formed in 1965. In a story Fridson tells, Anschutz struck oil in a Wyoming field in 1967, and it promptly caught fire. He knew a Hollywood studio was making a film about oil-well firefighter Red Adair, so he contacted the studio and sold the rights to film his fire for $100,000, which he promptly paid to Adair to put out.
"He was facing oblivion, and he found his way out,'' said Fridson.
In the 1980s, Anschutz owned Southern Pacific Railroad, and he spent many weekdays in San Francisco, where it was based, and returned to his Denver home on weekends. It was during this time that he ran in 15 or more San Francisco Examiner Bay to Breakers races. He always finished, and he remains a runner, as well as a golfer and tennis and squash player and hunter, said an aide, Jim Monaghan.
In 1996, the Southern Pacific merged with the Union Pacific, creating the largest railroad in the United States, and Anschutz is the company's largest shareholder with 6 percent.
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