Pickens’ Gift Keeps on Giving

Boone Pickens said Tuesday that his hedge fund has nearly doubled his $165 million gift to Oklahoma State University’s athletic department.

Pickens, in an interview with CNBC, said the BP Capital Management fund he manages has expanded his gift from $165 million in December 2005 to "more than $300 million." Shortly after Pickens made his donation to OSU, university officials stated they had asked him to manage the investment of that money through BP Capital.

His ability to correctly forecast energy commodity prices has generated a lot of wealth for him, and those who invest in him. Most recently, Pickens has predicted oil prices will hit $150 a barrel this year, continuing a major run-up that has seen crude oil prices reach record levels.

However, he admitted his fund made a bad call earlier this year by betting that oil prices would fall.

"We tried to be very clever in the first quarter of the year, and we were wrong," he said during an interview with CNBC anchor Becky Quick. "We missed it."

Pickens said his funds now are positioned to benefit from higher oil and natural gas prices.

"We’re long and all of our funds are in the black," he said. "We’re making money."

Pickens, who has been critical of the nation’s lack of a cohesive energy policy, suggested that the country should use natural gas to replace some oil imports. He touted several local companies, including Chesapeake Energy and SandRidge Energy for their ability to find natural gas.

"They’re all finding more natural gas than they’re producing," he said.

Pickens also disclosed that he bought 10 million Yahoo shares after Carl Icahn last week announced his intention to replace the Internet company’s directors, in hopes of brokering a merger with Microsoft.

Pickens admitted he knows little about Yahoo, but invested in the company merely because Icahn’s involvement typically produces profits for shareholders.

"Carl Icahn is a smart guy," Pickens said. "He does great things for shareholders, and because of Carl Icahn I’m a shareholder in Yahoo, too. When I saw what he did, I jumped in with Carl."