Bill Perkins

William O. Perkins III is an American hedge fund manager, film producer and poker player from Houston. Known as the “Natural Gas King” and “Cowboy of Wall Street,” Perkins focuses on venture capital and energy markets.

Perkins is the founder, managing partner and head trader for Skylar Capital. He began his career on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1991 and now has more than two decades of experience in the energy trading industry. Perkins specializes in capitalizing on mispricing in the natural gas markets through option structures based on his fundamental analysis. While natural gas is his primary focus, Perkins has used fundamental strategies in crude oil, power and other energy-related trades. Prior to founding Skylar Capital, he worked as a trading principal for Centaurus Energy and trader and risk manager for El Paso Energy, Statoil, AIG Energy Trading and Zahr Securities. He is also the founder and president of Small Ventures USA, LP, a private equity and venture capital firm based in Houston.

Additionally, Perkins has been involved in a range of ventures in energy, media, information technology and other fields. He is the founder of SkyFi, a leading provider of Earth observation data that removes barriers to capture satellite images, and SynMax, a satellite data analytics company that specializes in the use of commercial satellite images to locate oil and gas assets and provide maritime intelligence data. He has produced movies since 2009, including "After.Life" (2009), "Unthinkable" (2010) and "Cat Run" (2011). In 2020, Perkins released his first book, “Die with Zero,” which gives strategic advice on pursuing personal goals regardless of income.

Perkins is dedicated to a variety of charities, including the International Rescue Committee, Race to Erase MS and the Dave Thomas Foundation. He also offered generous logistical and financial support to those in the Virgin Islands following the back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes in 2017.

Perkins received his bachelor's in electrical engineering from the University of Iowa, where he played on the Iowa Hawkeyes football team. He is the proud father of two daughters, Skye and Brisa, and currently resides in Texas with his wife Lara.