Economic Meltdown Provides Small Silver Lining Seattle Sonics Fans

In these troubled times that we live in, people need to focus on the little things that help get them through their day. The laughter of a child, the good health of loved ones, and the delicious schadenfreude of watching greedy corporate bastards lose a billion dollars or so right after stealing your town's basketball team. One of the men behind the "transfer of wealth" that turned the Seattle Supersonics into the Oklahoma City Thunder was Aubrey McClendon, a big time Oklahoma oil man. Drunk on the potential power of NBA franchise ownership and $100-a-barrel crude, McClendon took out massive loans and used them to buy up huge chunks of the company he runs, Chesapeake Oil, which reached all-time high stock price of $69.40 on July 2—the exact day that the Sonics were officially ripped from the City of Seattle like a still beating heart. Today, that stock is worth slightly less ... about 75% less. Oil prices dropped, the loans came due, and McClendon lost about $1.8 billion. Oops. Sadly, his stock portfolio is now a paltry $400 million, so maybe you can help a guy out and and buy a Thunder t-shirt or something. • Karma Train Reaches OKC; Thunder Owner Wiped Out [Seattlest]