Quote:
Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan
This stuff lasts for generations. Near our ranch, there's a family that owns tons of the land around us. The family ran the general store back in the 20s. The land was acquired as payment for debt to the store during the Depression.
Fast forward 90 years, and the shale boom hits. Oil wells start popping up all over the county. And back in the 20s, no one knew to hold on to mineral rights. So now this family is raking it in (they started drilling last year, before the nose dive in oil prices).
I like the family. Nice people. They do good for the community. But their good fortune is just that: being in the right place at the right time.
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My grandfather and his brother owned a grocery store, hotel, and a bunch of commercial property during the Depression. They gave credit to people who needed it and did quite well for themselves. Acquired a whole lot of assets on the cheap.
Then they sued each other, one became an alcoholic and gave all of his money to his mistress while the other one, my grandfather, sold off a ton of land in the 60s. Much of that land is now prime fracking property, and another huge parcel sat where a highway was built in the 70s. I went to school with the kid whose family bought it and made a fortune selling pieces of it along the new highway.
My mother and her brother sued each other over my grandmother's estate and haven't spoken in 20 years.
"Right place, right time" only works if you've smart family. Mine fucked it up quite spectacularly. And I doubt they're alone in that incompetence. My grandfather no doubt rolls in his grave.
