Billionaire energy tycoon Rich Kinder, the CEO/cofounder of the pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, made $1.5 billion on Monday morning, Bloomberg News reported.
Kinder Morgan announced a $70 billion mega-deal that would streamline all of its publicly traded entities into one company.
The stocks — Kinder Morgan, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, El Paso Pipeline Partners, and Kinder Morgan Management — are all higher on the news. The general view is that investors like the streamlined corporate structure and that the company will now have a lower cost of capital.
Kinder is the largest shareholder of Kinder Morgan (KMI). He owns 243.1 million shares, or about a 24% stake, according to data from Bloomberg News.
Following the deal's announcement, Kinder Morgan's stock was up $6.23 at the opening bell, Bloomberg News reported. That means Kinder made an additional $1.5 billion on his stake.
Kinder accepts a $1 per year base salary. The 69-year-old Texan already has an estimated net worth of $10.1 billion, according to Forbes.
Adding $1.5 billion to your net worth is not a bad way to start a Monday.