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The 50 most powerful & influential people in Alabama

Garry Neil Drummond
Garry Neil Drummond, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Drummond Company

[tps_title]Garry Neil DrummondChairman and Chief Executive Officer, Drummond Company[/tps_title]

Drummond is a genuine Alabama icon and likely the wealthiest individual in the state.

There is probably no industry in the country that has been the subject of more political and economic maneuvering over the last four years than coal. Drummond and his business interests have taken fire from the Obama administration’s EPA in DC, as well as from allied liberal interest groups at home. Even the Birmingham Water Works Board has placed him in its crosshairs, but Drummond continues to excel in spite of it all.

While other executives answer to boards of directors and shareholders, Drummond owns 100 percent of his company and answers to no one. He has a strong lobbying presence in Montgomery and maintains a core group of legislators who are willing to stick their necks out to protect his interests.

Most local residents may not even realize there is a giant multinational conglomerate operating out of an unassuming Birmingham suburb, but that’s just another day in Drummond World.

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