George P. Mitchell*

Born in 1919 in Galveston, Texas, George Mitchell was the third son of Greek immigrants. His father's dry cleaning shop provided a meager living for family. When Mitchell was 13, his mother died.

Mitchell worked at a local fishing pier for a small salary and a portion of the fish he caught. He was an excellent student and graduated near the top of his class. He attended Texas A&M University, and worked his way through by waiting on tables and operating candy and tailoring concessions. During the summer months, he built bookcases, which he sold to incoming freshmen. In his third year of college, Mitchell hired a printer to develop gold-embossed Texas A&M stationery, which he sold through a network of distributors on campus. By his senior year, he was earning $300 a month. He graduated first in his class with a degree in petroleum engineering.

Mitchell accepted a job with Amoco in Louisiana, but was called to active duty with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers one month before Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Four years later, after his honorable discharge, Mitchell became a consultant with several backers paying $50 a month to invest in his independent oil and gas company, Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation. He was acting on the advice of a college professor who told all petroleum engineering students to strike out on their own at some point.

Eventually, his company became a great success and was one of the largest oil and gas producers in the nation, as well as one of the largest real estate developers in the Houston-Galveston region. Mitchell employed 3,000 people and drilled more than 150 wells a day, pioneering the extraction of shale gas. In 1992, Inc. magazine named him Master Entrepreneur of the Year.

In the 1960s, Mitchell's development corporation created The Woodlands, an area 27 miles north of Houston. Its accolades include the Prix d'Excellence Award by the International Real Estate Federation.

"If you want to create something, you have to have a vision," said Mitchell, whose company, later known as GPM, Inc., invested $100 million in the historic Stand Seaport area on Galveston Island, where he created a vibrant neighborhood of museums, offices, apartments, shops, hotels, and restaurants.

Looking at the challenges youth face today, Mitchell said, "There's a lot more competition today, but the avenues are still there."