Chris Cline

Chris Cline (July 5, 1958 – July 4, 2019) was an American coal baron and philanthropist. He had been the majority owner of Foresight Reserves LP, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Regarded by Bloomberg as the "New King Coal", Cline was considered to have been responsible for reviving the Illinois coal industry. His company has over three billion tons of coal reserves across Illinois and northern Appalachian Mountains.

Early life

Cline was born in Beckley, West Virginia, on July 5, 1958. Cline's father was Paul Cline. Cline's mother was Lassie Justice Cline.

Cline's grandfather mined for coal with a pickaxe around Beckley, West Virginia, in the early 20th century. At the age of six, Cline's father, Paul, asked him to fill a paper bag with dirt, paying him a penny for each bag. Cline dug the dirt from under the porch of their bungalow in Isaban, West Virginia. His father used the dirt bags in mine-blasting. Within two years, their porch had collapsed. According to Cline, his father had told him to "support the roof better". In 1980, Cline's father bought out his partner then gave the shares to Cline, who was then 21 years old.

Education

Cline studied psychology at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

Career

Coal mining business

In 1980 at age 22, Cline became an underground miner. He founded his own energy development company, the Cline Group, in 1990. In 2006 he organized Foresight Energy to manage his Illinois Basin coal rights. Foresight Energy went public in 2014 on the New York Stock Exchange. Cline sold off most of his share of Foresight in 2015, for $1.4 billion.