Coal baron Murray stood up for miners until he ran out of money

Coal baron Robert Murray’s support for union miners is part of the lore surrounding a man who’s worked in the industry for six decades. Now, that battle has ended.

Buried under $2.7-billion in debt, Murray Energy Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. Under a proposed restructuring, the 79-year-old Murray will no longer be chief executive officer of the company he founded. A new entity will be created to buy up the company’s assets while ditching more than $8-billion in pension and health-care obligations to miners.