A Louisiana Original

A $7,500 Loan From His Mother

Before elected office, Billy built something from almost nothing. His idea — converting used shipping containers into modular living quarters for Louisiana's offshore oil workers — turned a $7,500 loan from his mother into General Marine Leasing, the largest provider of portable buildings in the Gulf of Mexico.

200+ local jobs · $20 million in sales · Thousands of offshore dwellings created

Louisiana Life Magazine named him one of the state's "Top CEOs" in 2002. But ask Billy, and he'll tell you solving the offshore housing problem mattered more to him than anything he earned doing it.

The Fight for the Gulf

In the wake of the BP oil disaster of 2010, so many turned their backs on the fishing families and communities of the Louisiana coast. Billy refused to let the country look away. Almost nightly, he was on national television — including appearing with Anderson Cooper on the waters of the Gulf — giving voice to the frustration of countless Louisianians who were bearing the impact of the oil disaster.

He took the fight all the way to President Obama, face to face, demanding faster action for the hardest-hit parishes. He cut through the red tape, fought for the fishermen whose livelihoods were at stake, and kept fighting until victims were compensated and restoration began.

Over $2 billion in levees protecting Plaquemines today

His coastal master plan brought federal, state, and private resources together to restore wetlands and shield communities from storm surge — work that earned him an appointment to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Planning Commission and the Golden Horizon Award.

The Ranch, the Riding Center, and Cher

Billy is an active sportsman who raises elk and cattle on his ranch — and next to it, he built the Pointe Celeste Therapeutic Riding Center, where physically and mentally challenged Louisianians experience the therapy of horseback riding completely free of charge.

He has served on the board of the United Way of New Orleans, chaired its Plaquemines campaign, helped found the Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry, and volunteered with more organizations than this page has room to name. Through all of it: Cher, by his side since before the storms.