10 Things You Didn’t Know about Buffalo Bills Owner Terrence Pegula

Terrence Pegula is an American multi-billionaire with ownership stakes in a wide range of companies in a wide range of sectors. In particular, interested individuals might be familiar with him because of his involvement with not one but two Buffalo-based sports franchises. One would be the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, which he owns in full; while the other would be the Buffalo Bills of the NFL, which he owns along with his wife Kim Pegula.

1. Not Fond of Speaking in Public

There are some billionaires who love to speak in public. However, Terrence Pegula isn’t one of them. Instead, he is better-known for not speaking in public much, though it would be an exaggeration to say that he is one of those billionaires who prefer to stay out of the spotlight altogether, according to USA Today.

2. Raised in Carbondale, PA

Pegula was raised in Carbondale, PA, which can be found in Northeastern Pennsylvania, according to his roster information. Like a lot of other communities in the region, Carbondale thrived in the 19th as well as the early 20th centuries because of the immigrants who flocked there to work in both the coal mining and the railroading industries. Unfortunately, the collapse of the coal mines means that it has been struggling in more recent times.

3. Went to Pennsylvania State University

Education-wise, Pegula went to Pennsylvania State University, which was once the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania but has since managed to become a huge, sprawling institution with a fair amount of prestige to it. With that said, while the school has a solid reputation when it comes to academics, it tends to be better-known because of its athletics for both good and not so good reasons.

4. Went Into the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Program

Pegula went into Pennsylvania State University as someone who specialized in math. In time, he winded up in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program, which provided him with excellent preparation for his eventual career in the oil and gas industry. In fact, by the time of the mid-1970s, Pegula was already an Area Engineer with the Felmont Oil Company.

5. Made His Fortune in Fracking

In 1983, Pegula borrowed $7,500 from his friends as well as his family members for the purpose of founding East Resources Inc., which became involved in oil and gas exploration as well as oil and gas production. In particular, it is worth noting that East Resources was very involved with hydraulic fracking. Due to this, Pegula was eventually able to sell East Resources’s assets to Royal Dutch Shell as well as American Energy Partners for a combined total of $6.45 billion. However, it should be mentioned that Pegula hasn’t withdrawn from the oil and gas industry altogether, meaning that he is still very much involved with it through his business empire.

6. Has Provided Penn State with Considerable Support

Pegula has provided his alma mater with considerable support. For proof, look no further than the construction of Pegula Ice Arena, which was made possible by a $88 million gift to the school from Pegula as well as his wife, according to this article. This was what made a NCAA Division I hockey program possible at the school, which resulted in a number of other schools getting in on the action as well.

7. Bought Both Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans

It is clear that Pegula has a strong interest in hockey. After all, he didn’t stop with funding the construction of the Pegula Ice Arena. Instead, he proceeded to buy both the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL and the Rochester Americans of the AHL, which was particularly notable because it restored a longstanding relationship that had once existed between the two sports franchises. On top of this, it should be mentioned that Pegula actually owns one more hockey team in the form of the Buffalo Beauts, which play in the National Women’s Hockey League.

8. He Met His Wife At a Bar

Apparently, Pegula met his wife Kim Pegula at an Olean bar, which might sound strange to interested individuals considering their current wealth. In short, what happened was that Pegula was at the bar with some of his business associates, while his future wife was sending in an application to become a waitress. The two happened to start talking, which was followed by Pegula giving her his business card. Something that was followed up by him eventually offering her a job at East Resources.

9. Works Together with His Wife

Pegula and his wife Kim have been working together on a wide range of initiatives for a very long time. In particular, it is interesting to note that Kim has stated that he is the one who comes up with the ideas while she is the one who is responsible for translating those ideas into concrete steps. With that said, Kim has been known to spearhead various initiatives as well, with an excellent example being how she was said to have been a driving force in the couple’s efforts to buy the Buffalo Bills.

10. Doesn’t Like Being Perceived As an Impatient and Sometimes Intrusive Owner

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pegula doesn’t like it when the media depicts him as an impatient and even sometimes intrusive owner for the Buffalo Bills. However, what is most notable is that there is a business reason for this as well. In short, every time when Pegula is depicted as such by the media, there is speculation about whether he might intervene in regards to the leadership of the Buffalo Bills. Something that has a very disruptive effect, particularly since Pegula believes that success needs to be built on a foundation of continuity.