Why is Leon Hess given the title of the last oil baron? Hess: The Last Oil Baron profiles a brilliant yet very private man who created a multibillion-dollar, multinational, vertically integrated energy behemoth. Hess Corp. could do everything from finding oil in far-flung fields off the coast of Indonesia to selling you a tank of gas and a pack of gum at the local station on the corner.

Leon Hess was an immigrant kosher butcher's son from Asbury Park, New Jersey, who built an oil dynasty that may never be equaled. His journey began with a single second-hand delivery truck and the uncanny business sense of one young man. Hess: The Last Oil Baron is filled with interviews with former employees, beneficiaries, and even the manager of the football team he owned to offer a rare perspective on the man behind the legacy. His life and his company exemplified the dramatic changes in the U.S. and global energy industry in the 20th century.

Hess's remarkable story gives today's aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn from one of the nation's most inspiring success stories. However, there was more to Leon Hess than a man who built a global empire from the ground up. Hess fought in a war, did business with Muammar Qaddafi, won a Super Bowl as the owner of the Jets, was involved in Watergate, and introduced the Hess toy truck that became a holiday tradition for millions of Americans.

In the years following his death in 1999, Hess's legacy started to be erased from popular memory. Today, Leon's son and successor John is facing untold business challenges and what may be the end of the family era at Hess Corp. This compelling biography captures Leon Hess's extraordinary life story, the company he created, the man he was, and most important, the ways in which his life and industry changed the nation.