Hunt had fifteen children by three wives. He and Lyda Bunker of
Lake Village, southeast of
Pine Bluff, Arkansas were married in November 1914 and remained married until her death in 1955. His seven children by her were:
Margaret (1915–2007), Haroldson ("Hassie", 1917–2005),
Caroline (1923–2018), Lyda (born and died in 1925),
Nelson Bunker (1926–2014),
William Herbert (1929–2024), and
Lamar (1932–2006). Their home on
White Rock Lake in Dallas was styled after
Mount Vernon though much larger. His first son, Hassie, who was expected to succeed him in control of the family business, was
lobotomized in response to increasingly erratic behavior. He outlived his father. Lamar founded the
American Football League and created the
Super Bowl, drawing on the assistance of his children in selecting the game's name. Two other children, Herbert and Bunker, are famous for their purchasing much of the world's silver, in an attempt to corner the market. They ultimately owned more silver than any government in the world before their scheme was discovered and undone. Bunker Hunt was briefly one of the wealthiest men in the world, having discovered and taken title to the Libyan oil fields, before
Muammar Gaddafi nationalized the properties. While still married to Lyda, H. L. Hunt is said to have married Frania Tye of
Tampa, Florida, in November 1925 by using the name Franklin Hunt. Frania claimed to have discovered the bigamous nature of her marriage in 1934, and in a legal settlement in 1941, Hunt created trust funds for each of their four children, and she signed a document stipulating that no legal marriage between them had ever existed. About the same time, she briefly married then divorced Hunt's employee, John Lee, taking the last name Lee for herself and her four children. Lyda's four children by Hunt were: Howard (born 1926), Haroldina (1928), Helen (1930), and Hugh ("Hue", 1934). Frania Tye Lee died in 2002. His youngest son, Ray Lee, inherited the business and was a major supporter of President
George W. Bush. Hunt's 15 children in birth order are: •
Margaret Hunt Hill (October 19, 1915 – June 14, 2007), Philanthropist and co-owner of
Hunt Petroleum • H. L. "Hassie" Hunt III (November 23, 1917 – April 20, 2005), Diagnosed with
schizophrenia in the early 1940s; co-owner of Hunt Petroleum •
Caroline Rose Hunt (January 8, 1923 – November 13, 2018), Founder and honorary chairman of
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts which operates The Mansion on Turtle Creek • Lyda Bunker Hunt (February 19, 1925 – March 20, 1925) (Died as an infant) •
Nelson Bunker Hunt (February 22, 1926 – October 21, 2014), A major force in developing Libyan oil field; eventually attempted to
corner the world market in silver in 1979 and was convicted of conspiring to manipulate the market; Legendary owner-breeder of
Thoroughbred racehorses • Howard Lee Hunt (October 25, 1926 – October 13, 1975) • Haroldina Franch Hunt (October 26, 1928 – November 10, 1995) •
William Herbert Hunt (March 6, 1929 – April 9, 2024), Ran Hunt Oil, Hunt Petroleum, Hunt Energy, Placid Oil, etc.; The founder of Petro-Hunt LLC • Helen Lee Cartledge Hunt (October 28, 1930 – June 3, 1962), Died in the
Air France Flight 007 disaster, the worst single aircraft disaster up until that time •
Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006), co-founder of the
American Football League and the
North American Soccer League; owner of the
Kansas City Chiefs of the
National Football League; owner of the
Columbus Crew and
FC Dallas of
Major League Soccer; backer of
World Championship Tennis; impetus behind 1966 AFL-NFL merger, coined the name "
Super Bowl" • Hugh S. Hunt (October 14, 1934 – November 12, 2002), Lived in
Potomac, Maryland, founder of Constructivist Foundation •
Ray Lee Hunt (born
c. 1943), Chairman of
Hunt Oil •
June Hunt (born
c. 1944), Host of a daily religious radio show,
Hope for the Heart •
Helen LaKelly Hunt (born
c. 1949), A pastoral counselor in Dallas; co-manager of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, one of the family's charitable arms •
Swanee Hunt (born May 1, 1950), Former U.S.
ambassador to Austria; now head of the Women and Public Policy Program at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government in
Cambridge, Massachusetts and president of the Hunt Alternatives Fund A scandal emerged in 1975, after his death, when it was discovered that he had a hidden
bigamous relationship with his second wife living in New York. After his marriage to Ruth Ray, Hunt became a
Baptist and was a member of the
First Baptist Church of Dallas. He was a major financial contributor toward the establishment of the conservative
Christian evangelical
Criswell College in Dallas. After several months at
Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Hunt died at age 85,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S5dfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RDEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2318%2C8063543 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=Associated Press |title=Billionaire H.L. Hunt ==Politics==