Former presidential advisor
Innovative energy thinker Matthew Simmons dies suddenly in his vacation home hottub
Prominent energy investment banker Matthew R. Simmons, 67, died Sunday at his summer home in North Haven, Maine.
Early police reports from late Sunday night say that Simmons died of a heart attack while in a hot tub.
An innovative thinker who promoted the controversial "peak oil" concept chronicled in his book Twilight in the Desert, Simmons was probably best known for encouraging policy makers to move away from oil dependence. In that vein, Simmons founded the think tank and venture capital fund the Ocean Energy Institute in Rockland, Maine, in 2007.
Simmons rose to fame with his firm Simmons & Co. International, one of the leading energy investment banks in the world, which he founded in 1974. He served as an energy advisor for former President George W. Bush.
He served as chairman emeritus of the firm until mid-June when the company severed its ties with Simmons, reportedly because of comments that he made in an interview with Fortune magazine. Simmons stated that BP would soon be forced into chapter 11 as result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
He is survived by his wife Ellen and five daughters. Details of services are pending. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ocean Energy Research Institute.
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky