Jim Bob Moffett, a long-time business and civic leader who ushered New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. into the Fortune 500 in the 1980s, has died from complications of COVID-19, The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate reports.
Under Moffett's tenure as CEO, Freeport-McMoRan found huge lodes of gold and copper in Indonesia.
Moffett attended the University of Texas as an undergrad, and received a graduate degree at Tulane University. His company became a major benefactor for New Orleans-area non-profits, including Tulane, Loyola University, the Audubon Nature Institute, and more. The company was also the title sponser of the New Orleans PGA tournament for years.
Freeport-McMoRan was also involved in controversy. A 2005 New York Times report said the company paid Indonesian officials and military personnel to suppress opposition to its mining operations. The company responded that it was acting in accordance with U.S. and Indonesian laws to make sure it had a secure working environment for its employees.
The company was also accused of having a poor environmental record when it came to minimizing the impact of its mining operations.
Moffett's company moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 2007. In 2015, he stepped down as chairman.
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