Oil magnate Harold Hamm had a rough year in 2014.
The tycoon saw half his wealth vanish in just six months, as falling oil prices crushed the value of his company, Continental Resources, Inc, bringing his net worth down from $18.5 billion in June of last year to $9.3 billion in early January, according to Wealth-X, a wealth tracking company.
Hamm has also been going through a very public divorce from his ex-wife, Sue Ann Arnall, which made headlines after a judge ordered him to cough up nearly $1 billion. Last month, Hamm appealed the ruling, claiming he couldn’t afford to pay.
Arnall also appealed, claiming that she should be entitled to more.
In a surprise turnaround, Hamm ended up sending his ex-wife a check for the full amount of $975 million. Despite cashing the check, she is still pursuing her appeal.
But the saga might not be over yet. The billionaire recently secured a personal loan, using shares in his company as collateral.
According to a regulatory filing registered this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hamm pledged about $2.4 billion worth of shares in Continental.
Hamm owns nearly 253 million of the company’s shares, so the amount he’s putting up represents about a quarter of that. Even with the loss of shares, he still retains a 68% stake in the company.
It isn’t clear how much the loan was for, or where he got it from. Hamm’s attorney declined to comment.