He is survived by four children from his first marriage, Deborah Pickens Stovall, Pam Pickens Grace, Michael Pickens and Tom Pickens. He adopted a daughter from his second wife, Liz Pickens Cordia. He is survived by 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
In his later years, Pickens gained fame as a philanthropist, donating approximately $1 billion to philanthropic causes, half of which went to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University.
But even his philanthropic efforts have stirred controversy. According to the Times, a $165 million gift given to Oklahoma State University on Dec. 30, 2005, was given to the university's philanthropic foundation on Dec. 30, 2005, before being invested in Hedge. “Not even an hour was spent on the OS Cowboy Golf account.” The fund is managed by Mr. Pickens of BP Capital Management. ”
The university previously committed $277 million to the fund, but Pickens claimed he waived management fees on the university's investments.
Pickens claimed that embarrassment never deterred him from several attempts to change his image. “I've always believed in showing a new look on a regular basis,” he told Forbes in 1994. “Predictions can lead to failure.”
Despite his boundless energy, towards the end of his life, after experiencing a series of strokes, in his later years he became more accepting of his mortality, and in July 2017, Job Networking Web He wrote on the site LinkedIn:
“Just a year ago, I was wearing my age proudly, even joking about it, and feeling immortal. Last year, I opened a speech by saying, 'The other day… , I turned 88 and realized that my life was half over.'' I refused to call my 2008 autobiography “Life in the Fourth Quarter.'' Because I wasn't in the fourth quarter. But things have changed for me since my stroke. I'm clearly in the fourth quarter and the clock is ticking. ”
