Some TEXAS MONTHLY Stories on Business
Herb Kelleher »
Interview by Evan Smith [June 2008]
The Kitchen Is Closed »
Forty years ago, Pete Dominguez and his Mexican restaurants were the toast of Dallas. Now he’s alone, broke, and nearly forgotten.
by Gary Cartwright [June 2008]
Donald R. Horton »
57, homebuilder, Fort Worth
[February 2008]
The Gospel According to Matthew »
Why does a rich Houston investment banker spend his days traveling the globe, preaching to the uninformed and indifferent that the world’s supply of crude oil is in steep decline and the end of life as we know it is very, very near? Maybe because it is.
by Mimi Swartz [February 2008]
Michael MacDougall »
37, private equity potentate, Austin/New York
[February 2008]
Dave Stephenson »
42, sports marketer, Dallas
[February 2008]
The Unbankables »
All over Dallas are working-class dreamers with more will than wallet, would-be entrepreneurs who’d start their own businesses if only they had savings, good credit, home equity. That’s what brings them to the PLAN Fund.
by Michael Hall [October 2007]
The Next Frontier »
How has the state’s most storied ranch managed to survive and thrive in the twenty- first century? By operating in a way that its founder, Captain Richard King, would scarcely recognize.
by S. C. Gwynne [August 2007]
Eva vs. Goliath »
After James and Linda Rowe were killed in a grisly refinery explosion in Texas City in 2005, their wild-child daughter could have taken a modest settlement and started to rebuild her life in a small Louisiana border town. Instead, she chose to fight—and brought a multibillion-dollar oil company to its knees.
by Mimi Swartz [July 2007]
Eating A Dead Horse »
Even if you’ve never dined on the delicious remains of a noble steed, you probably have an opinion on whether the state’s two slaughterhouses should remain open. Boone Pickens does. And Charlie Stenholm. And Bo Derek. Not to mention the many traders and “killer buyers” for whom business is business.
by Karen Olsson [December 2006]
Dell Freezes Over »
It’s not just the stock price. It’s not just the executive exodus. It’s not just the flaming laptops. It’s not just the lousy customer service. It’s not just the sagging employee morale. It’s all of these things—and it’s deadly serious. Inside the sudden decline of the world’s most
powerful computer company.
by S. C. Gwynne [October 2006]
Guilty Pleasure »
Kenny, we hardly knew ye. Okay, maybe we knew you too well. The jury, at least, seems to have pegged you just right. You too, Skilling.
by Mimi Swartz [July 2006]
Tree Ring Circus »
Why did the feds spend seventeen years pursuing a baseless billion-dollar lawsuit against Houston financier Charles Hurwitz? To help environmentalists take away his old-growth California redwoods. Your tax dollars at work.
by S. C. Gwynne [April 2006]
Retail Politics »
Along a seventeen-mile stretch of Interstate 35 sits a theoretical dividing line between red-state and blue-state America. In Austin, the flagship Whole Foods attracts your typical wine-sipping, tree-hugging, Volvo-driving liberals. In Buda, the massive Cabela’s is a magnet for beer-guzzling, gun-toting, flag-waving conservatives. From these consumer preferences, voting habits are born—but appearances, like tofu dogs and duck decoys, can be deceiving.
by S. C. Gwynne [January 2006]
The Bidness Myth »
Rethinking the way we do business—and government—down here.
by Michael Ennis [January 2006]
Rental Illness »
When people hear I’m a landlady, they tell me I should have my head examined. Yep.
by Suzy Banks [October 2005]
The Mildcatters »
The lessons of the eighties boom have been internalized by today’s energy entrepreneurs, who seem nothing like their risk-loving forebears. They’re happy playing it safe, which is why their preferred commodity is gas, not oil.
by Mimi Swartz [July 2005]
Drawing Conclusions »
Illustrator Jody Hewgill on where she finds inspiration and deciding how to portray Whole Foods’ co-founder and CEO John Mackey.
Interview by Katherine Sands [March 2005]
Happily Enron After! »
The fairy tale is long over, but reality hasn’t necessarily set in.
by Mimi Swartz [February 2005]
The Dallas Morning Blues »
Why isn’t this man smiling? If you were the chairman of Belo, the suddenly stumbling media conglomerate, you wouldn’t be smiling either. Then again, Robert Decherd is sure there’s only good news ahead.
by S. C. Gwynne [January 2005]
Yes in My Backyard »
To say that the private prison in Eden doesn't creep out
the locals is an understatement. They're downright
thankful for the place.
by Jason Cohen [September 2004]
O, Canadian! »
The Panhandle town may be the first in Texas to decide
to base its economy on nature tourism. Judging by the
results, it won't be the last.
by John Morthland [September 2004]
Wheels of Fortune »
For automakers in the U.S. and overseas, Texas is the
very best market for the pickup truck. And for Texans,
the pickup truck is the very best vehicle—if only for
what it says about who we are. Or who we'd like to be.
by John Spong [August 2004]
Fertittaville »
Restaurant mogul Tilman Fertitta means to redevelop
Galveston into what some say will be a Gulf Coast
version of Atlantic City. No wonder he's making waves.
by Katy Vine [July 2004]
Smooth Operator »
Associate editor Katy Vine on Houston businessman
Tilman Fertitta and his impact on Galveston's tourism
revival.
Interview by Patricia Busa McConnico [July 2004]
The Metamorphosis »
If you want to understand the shift in political power that has taken place in Texas over the past thirty years—from rural areas to the new suburbs, from Democratic control to Republican dominance—you'll hardly find a better case study than Tom DeLay's Sugar Land.
by Lou Dubose and Jan Reid [May 2004]
The Voice of America »
Is Clear Channel, the San Antonio-based radio behemoth, as patently evil as everyone says? Don't touch that dial.
by S. C. Gwynne [April 2004]
The Whistle-Blower »
What has Sherron Watkins' life been like since she exposed the financial shenanigans of her colleagues at Enron? Well, she may be one of Time's "Persons of the Year," but she's not necessarily one of Houston's.
by Pamela Colloff [April 2003]
Mother Nurture »
The secret to running Southwest Airlines? Be sentimental. Share. And love.
As told to S. C. Gwynne [February 2003]
Did Dick Cheney Sink Halliburton (And Will It Sink Him?) »
Well, the vice president of the United States was a mediocre CEO, but the company will be just fine. And, despite what you've read in the papers, so will he.
by S. C. Gwynne [October 2002]
“The Trick Is Not to Act Like a Lawyer.” »
So says Rusty Hardin, Houston’s defense attorney of the moment—the latest in a long line of courtroom heroes guilty of premeditated flamboyance and charisma in the first degree.
by Pamela Colloff [September 2002]
Dreade Locke »
Russell Erxleben and Brian Russell Stearns were first-rate frauds who cheated scores of unsuspecting investors. So how did the prominent law firm of Locke, Liddell, and Sapp get stuck footing a $30 million bill?
by John Spong [November 2001]
How Enron Blew It »
The Houston-based energy giant put the pursuit of profits ahead of all other corporate goals, which fostered a climate of workaholism and paranoia. And that was only part of the problem.
by Mimi Swartz [November 2001]
Thanks a Million 1999 »
What do Tom Hicks, Jerry Jones, and Charles Barkley have in common? They’re all good sports — and they were three of Texas’ top philanthropists last year.
by Ann Castle [February 2000]
Who Wants to Be a Billionaire? »
You do, right? Joe Jamail, Red McCombs, Mark Cuban, and seven other superrich Texans tell you how.
by Alexandra Biesada and Claire Poole [February 2000]
The Best of the Texas Century—Business »
Paul Burka on Santa Rita No. 1, Jordan Mackay on Humble Oil, and Brian D. Sweany on the inventor of the century.
[December 1999]
Entrepreneur of the Century—Michael Dell »
“Entrepreneurship is the art of the possible. Anyone with money and a good idea has what it takes to write his own ticket. The hitch, of course, is follow-through. You have to execute. You have to do it. And no one has done it as well as Michael Dell.”
by Evan Smith [December 1999]
Java Nice Day »
After years of not much brewing, Houston’s Duncan Coffee Company is piping hot all over again.
by Patricia Sharpe [September 1999]
Business • Red McCombs »
Driven to succeed.
by Jan Jarboe Russell [September 1999]
Advertising • Charlotte Beers »
Selling it like it is.
by Stuart Elliott [September 1999]
The Blood of the Tigua »
Factions of the West Texas tribe are feuding, and while the problem is supposedly one of genealogy–who is and is not a member– you can bet that casino gambling has something to do with it too.
by Pamela Colloff [August 1999]
Up in Smoke »
Has Dan Morales gone up in smoke? by Skip Hollandsworth.
by Skip Hollandsworth [August 1999]
How Many of You Have Heard of Zig Ziglar Before—Or Is This Your First Time-uh? »
From Harvard to Hesitation Hill, the nation’s most motivated motivational speaker is much in demand. And he’ll still see you at the top.
by Skip Hollandsworth [July 1999]
Clean Living »
How the fight over a toxic waste dump has changed the lives of three West Texas activists.
by Joe Nick Patoski [July 1999]
This Year’s Remodel »
After watching their business districts wither away as companies set up shop in the suburbs, Texas cities and towns are banding together to fight back.
by Evan Smith [March 1999]
That’s the Ticket »
The airlines are locked in a fiercely competitive war. Should you try to benefit? Discount-travel guru Tom Parsons says: All’s fare.
by Joe Nick Patoski [December 1998]
Moore of the Same »
Old Texas, New Texas, boom, bust: Whatever the times, Houston strip-mall king Jerry J. Moore makes a living–and lives it up.
by Claire Poole [October 1998]
Success by Design »
At Texas’ top industrial design firm, the old style-versus-substance debate is a nonstarter: Why choose when you can have both?
by Patricia Sharpe [September 1998]
WHISTLE-BLOWER • Jennifer Long »
Auditing the IRS.
by Gary Cartwright [September 1998]
BUSINESS • Thomas O. Hicks »
Hello, good buy.
by Skip Hollandsworth [September 1998]
45 Years (Sat Nov 22 at 5:28 PM)
Can You Spare Some Change I Can Believe In? (Sat Nov 22 at 4:10 PM)
Even Worse, They're Cutting Back on Monocles (Fri Nov 21 at 8:39 AM)
