Joe Craft

Joseph Craft III (born 1950)[2] is an American businessman. He is the president and chief executive officer of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., the third-largest coal producer in the eastern United States.[3][4]

Joe Craft
Joe and Kelly Knight Craft at 2018 US Embassy in Canada Independence Day celebration
Born1950 (age 70–71)
Hazard, Kentucky, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Kentucky (BS, JD)
OccupationBusinessman
EmployerAlliance Resource Partners, L.P.
Net worthUS$1.4 billion (February 2011)[1]
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2016)​

Personal life

Craft received an undergraduate degree in accounting in 1972 from the University of Kentucky before earning a JD degree in 1976.[5][6] During his time at the University of Kentucky, Craft was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[5]

Career

Craft began his career at Mapco Inc, a pipeline company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[7] In 1985, he was elected senior vice president of legal and finance.[8] In 1986, Craft became head of the coal division at Mapco.[7] In 1996, Craft led a management buyout of the unit. The buyout involved Mapco selling a 75 percent stake in the coal division to the Beacon Group Energy Investment Fund.[7][9][10] The new company was called Alliance Coal LLC.[11] In 1999, he led the effort to take Alliance public.[7] In August 1999, he became president and chief executive of Alliance.[12]

In January 2019, Craft was named president of Alliance Resource Partners.[11]

Political activism

In January 2012, Craft donated around $500,000 to Restore Our Future, a Super PAC supporting Mitt Romney.[13] On July 11, 2016, Craft hosted a private fundraiser for Donald Trump at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky.[14] Through his trust, JWCIII REV TRUST, Craft contributed $1,000,000 to the Trump presidential inaugural committee.[15]

Craft's wife, Kelly Craft, in 2017 was appointed by Donald Trump as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. [16] In 2019 she became the United States Ambassador to the United Nations also appointed by President Trump.[16][17]

Awards

In 2008, Craft was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southwest Region energy, chemical, and mining category.[18] In 2009, Craft was inducted into The University of Tulsa's Collins College of Business Hall of Fame.[19]

The Joe Craft Center, a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility for the Kentucky Wildcats men's and women's basketball teams, was named for him after he pledged $6 million toward the completion of the project. This was the largest private gift in the history of UK Athletics.[20]

See also

References
  1. "Joseph W. Craft Profile". Forbes. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  2. "Hazard native gives generously to UK". Hazard Herald. July 18, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  3. "Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. Announces Acquisition of Coal Supply Agreements from Affiliate of Patriot Coal Corporation". Business Wire. January 2, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  4. "A Courtside View of Scott Pruitt's Cozy Ties With a Billionaire Coal Baron". The New York Times. June 2, 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  5. Blackford, Linda (February 14, 2013). "Billionaire Joe Craft at nexus of Kentucky basketball, coal and politics". Lexington Herald Leader.
  6. Williams, Chad (2018). Escape the Law The Journey from Lawyer to Entrepreneur. Morgan James Publishing. ISBN 9781683508465.
  7. Loh, Tim (July 22, 2017). "Obscure coal CEO rains money on Trump while outflanking rivals". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  8. "EXECUTIVE CHANGES (Published 1985)". The New York Times. July 15, 1985. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  9. "MAPCO Coal Sale Expected". The Oklahoman. January 16, 1996. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  10. "COMPANY NEWS;MAPCO TO SELL A 75% STAKE IN ITS COAL UNIT (Published 1996)". The New York Times. January 16, 1996. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  11. "Alliance Resource Partners Appoints Joseph Craft as Chairman of Board of Directors | Mining Connection — The Link For All Your Mining Resources". Mining Connection. January 11, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  12. "Football training facility renamed for Joe Craft". WKYT. October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  13. "Billionaire Joe Craft at nexus of Kentucky basketball, coal and politics". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 4, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  14. "Donald Trump heading to Kentucky for fundraiser". The Washington Times. June 28, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  15. Siegel, Emily (April 3, 2019). "Trump inaugural donors got ambassador nominations. Are they qualified?". NBC News. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  16. Kirby, Jen (May 2, 2019). "Trump has nominated Kelly Craft to be the next UN ambassador. Here's who she is". Vox. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  17. "Trump picks envoy to Canada Kelly Craft for U.N. ambassador". Reuters. February 23, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  18. "Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists". D Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  19. "TU Hall of Fame Inducts Business Leaders". Tulsa World. March 2, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  20. "UK Athletics Receives Record Gift". The University of Kentucky. August 18, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2015.


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