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Chris Wright

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This article is about the United States Secretary of Energy. For other people named Chris Wright, see Chris Wright (disambiguation).

Chris Wright
Official portrait, 2025
17th United States Secretary of Energy
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 4, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyJames Danly (nominee)
Preceded byJennifer Granholm
Member of the Board of Directors for the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve 10th District
In office
January 1, 2020 – April 29, 2024
Serving with Rachel Gerlach, Nicole Glaros, John J. Coyne III, Navin Dimond, Janice J. Lucero, Del Esparza
PresidentEsther George
Kelly Dubbert
Jeffrey Schmid
Preceded byTaryn Edwards
Jackie Baca
Ashley J. Burt
Jeff Wallace
Katharine W. Winograd
Personal details
Born
Christopher Allen Wright

(1965-01-15) January 15, 1965 (age 60)[1]
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLiz Wright
Education
Chris Wright's voice
Wright's opening statement during his Senate confirmation hearing
Recorded January 15, 2025

Christopher Allen Wright (born January 15, 1965)[2][1] is an American engineer and businessman serving as the 17th United States secretary of energy since 2025. Before his appointment, he was the CEO of Liberty Energy, North America's second largest hydraulic fracturing company, and served on the boards of Oklo Inc., a nuclear technology company, and EMX Royalty Corp., a Canadian mineral rights and mining rights royalty payment company.[3]

On November 16, 2024, President Donald Trump announced Wright as his nominee for the United States secretary of energy. He was confirmed by the United States Senate to the office on February 3, 2025 by a vote of 59–38.[4] He was sworn in later that day.[5]

Early and personal life

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Wright was born in 1965 and grew up in Colorado. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[6] He was a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and at MIT.[7] Wright and his wife, Liz, live in Englewood, Colorado.[8]

Career

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Chris Wright speaking with attendees at the American Conservation Coalition in 2023

In 1992, Wright founded Pinnacle Technologies, a company involved in commercial shale gas production through fracking and served as its CEO until 2006. He was also chairman of Stroud Energy (current Stroud Exploration Company),[9] another company involved in the production of shale gas, before he sold the company in 2006.[8] In 2011, he founded Liberty Energy.[10] As of February 2023, the company was valued at $2.8 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.[11] As the CEO of Liberty Energy, Wright earned $5.6 million in 2023.[6]

In 2019 Wright drank fracking fluid to demonstrate that it was not dangerous,[12][13] and Liberty Energy promoted its "greener selections" for chemical additives.[14] In a video posted to LinkedIn in January 2023, he said, "There is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either".[15] He claimed that the climate movement around the world was "collapsing under its own weight".[7] He also said that the term "carbon pollution" is misleading.[16]

Wright served on the Board of Directors for the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City from January 2020 to April 2024.[17][18][19]

In April 2024, he testified on the Securities and Exchange Commission's climate change rule from March 2024, which requires the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, physical risks to climate change and transition risks.[20] He called the rule unlawful "climate regulation promulgated under the Commission's seal", said that companies' risks associated with extreme weather were decreasing,[20]: 9  and that millions of lives had been saved by reducing cold-related deaths.[20]: 10 

Wright has been on the board of directors of Oklo Inc., a company that designs small fast-neutron reactors, and EMX Royalty Corp., a Canadian royalty payment company for mineral rights and mining rights.[3]

Secretary of Energy

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Wright at his hearing to be Secretary of Energy

On November 15, 2024, the Financial Times reported that Wright was the most likely candidate for United States secretary of energy in Donald Trump's second presidency; businessmen Ray Washburne and Paul Dabbar were also considered.[21] He had donated $228,390 to Trump's joint fundraising committee in 2024.[6] Republican senator John Barrasso praised Wright as an "energy innovator".[22] He received several endorsements from Trump allies including American Energy Alliance president Thomas Pyle and Continental Resources chairman Harold Hamm.[23] The next day, Trump announced he would nominate Wright as the United States secretary of energy, and he would serve on the National Energy Council if confirmed by the Senate.[24] The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted in favor of Wright's nomination in a vote of 15–6 on January 23,[25] and his confirmation moved to the full Senate, which confirmed him in a 59–38 vote on February 3 and was sworn in later the same day.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Energy Secretary Nominee Chris Wright Testifies at Confirmation Hearing". C-SPAN. January 15, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  2. ^ Report of proposed sale of securities (Report). Securities and Exchange Commission. August 9, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Christopher A Wright "Chris"". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "LIVE NOW: Senate Holds Confirmation Vote for Chris Wright as Energy Secretary". NTD. February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Statement from Energy Secretary Chris Wright" (Press release). United States Department of Energy. February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright released the following statement after being sworn in earlier today as the 17th Secretary of Energy:
  6. ^ a b c Charalambous, Peter; Glasser, Matthew; Pereira, Ivan. "What to know about Trump's energy secretary nominee Chris Wright". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary". AP News. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Liberty Energy Leadership". Liberty Energy. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Stroud Exploration Company, LLC". Stroud Exploration Company, LLC. Archived from the original on November 15, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Home". Liberty Energy. November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on November 17, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Morenne, Benoît (February 4, 2023). "Energy CEO Fights Climate Science. And LinkedIn. North Face, Too". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Trump picks oil industry CEO Chris Wright as Energy Secretary". Reuters. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  13. ^ "Fracking fluid experiment". The Sydney Morning Herald. November 18, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "Green Select". December 20, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Samuelsohn, Darren. "Donald Trump to nominate industry CEO Chris Wright to be secretary of Energy". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  16. ^ "Trump nominates fracking magnate Chris Wright as energy secretary". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Denver Branch Alumni". www.kansascityfed.org. December 5, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  18. ^ Wright, Christopher Allen (January 3, 2025). "Nominee Report: Wright, Christopher Allen" (PDF). Office of Government Ethics. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  19. ^ "Chris Wright - Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City". web.archive.org. April 29, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "WRITTEN STATEMENT OF CHRIS WRIGHT, FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN & CEO LIBERTY ENERGY I NC " (PDF). House Committee on Financial Services. April 10, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  21. ^ McCormick, Myles; Fedor, Lauren; Smyth, Jamie (November 15, 2024). "Oil boss Chris Wright leads race to be Donald Trump's energy secretary". Financial Times. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  22. ^ Matthew Daly, Will Weissert and Colleen Long (November 17, 2024). "Trump names CEO of Denver-based oil and gas company as energy secretary". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 17, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  23. ^ Natter, Ali (November 15, 2024). "Fracking Boss Picks Up Endorsements to Be Trump Energy Secretary". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  24. ^ "Donald Trump said he would nominate Chris Wright, the chief executive of Liberty Energy, an oil field services company, as his secretary of energy". The New York Times. November 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "Senate committees approve Trump Cabinet nominations". CNN. January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
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