Christopher Allen Wright (born January 15, 1965) is an American government official,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, and businessman serving as the 17th

United States secretary of energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession, presidential line of succession. The po ...

since 2025. Before his appointment, he was the CEO of

Liberty Energy Liberty Energy Inc. is an American onshore oilfield services company based in Denver, Colorado. Liberty Energy was founded by Chris Wright in 2011. History In 2020, Schlumberger Schlumberger (), doing business as SLB, is a global mult ...

, North America's second largest

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of Formation (geology), formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the ...

company, and served on the boards of

Oklo Inc. Oklo Inc. is an Advanced nuclear, advanced nuclear technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Founded in 2013 by Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Cochran, both graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the company designs ...

, a nuclear technology company, and EMX Royalty Corp., a Canadian

mineral rights Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership (see Split estate). Mineral rights can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth's surfa ...

and mining rights

royalty payment A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

company. On November 16, 2024, President-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced Wright as his nominee for the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the office on February 3, 2025 by a vote of 59–38. He was sworn in later that day.

Early and personal life

Chris 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 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). He was a graduate student in electrical engineering at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and at MIT. Wright and his wife, Liz, live in Englewood, Colorado.

Career

Business

In 1992, Wright founded ''Pinnacle Technologies'', a company involved in commercial

shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s, a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and ...

production through

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

and served as its CEO until 2006. He was also chairman of Stroud Energy, another company involved in the production of shale gas, before he sold the company in 2006. In 2011, he founded

, then known as Liberty Oilfield Services. As of February 2023, the company was valued at billion, according to ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. As the CEO of Liberty Energy, Wright earned $5.6 million in 2023. In 2019 Wright drank

fracking fluid A proppant is a solid material, typically sand, treated sand or man-made ceramic materials, designed to keep an induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment, most commonly for unconventional reservoirs. It is add ...

to demonstrate that it was not dangerous, and Liberty Energy promoted its "greener selections" for chemical additives. In a video posted to

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...

in January 2023, he said, "There is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an

energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...

either". He claimed that the

climate movement The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called ''climate action'') addressing the causes and Effects of climate change, impacts of climate change. Citizens and environme ...

around the world was "collapsing under its own weight". He also said that the term "carbon pollution" is misleading. Wright served on the board of directors for the Denver Branch of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and covers the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and portions of western Missouri and northern New Mexic ...

from January 2020 to April 2024. In April 2024, Wright testified on the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

's climate change rule from March 2024, which requires the disclosure of

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

, physical risks to climate change and transition risks. He called the rule unlawful "

climate regulation The politics of climate change results from different perspectives on how to respond to climate change. Global warming is driven largely by the emissions of greenhouse gases due to human economic activity, especially the burning of fossil fuel ...

promulgated under the Commission's seal", said that companies' risks associated with

extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe weather, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weat ...

were decreasing, and that millions of lives had been saved by reducing cold-related deaths. Wright has been on the board of directors of

, a company that designs small

fast-neutron reactor A fast-neutron reactor (FNR) or fast-spectrum reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons (carrying energies above 1 MeV, on average), as opposed to slow t ...

s, and EMX Royalty Corp., a Canadian

company for

and mining rights.

Politics

On November 15, 2024, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' reported that Wright was the most likely candidate for

United States Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession, presidential line of succession. The po ...

's second presidency. He had donated $228,390 to Trump's joint fundraising committee in 2024. Republican senator

John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A mem ...

praised Wright as an "energy innovator." He received several endorsements from Trump allies including American Energy Alliance president Thomas Pyle and Continental Resources chairman

Harold Hamm Harold Glenn Hamm (born December 11, 1945) is an American business magnate in the oil and gas business. He is known for pioneering fracking of shale oil resources. , Hamm's net worth is estimated to be billion, making him the 63rd wealthiest p ...

. On November 16, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of Wright to serve as U.S. Secretary of Energy as well as a member of the National Energy Council following confirmation by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. The

United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, inclu ...

voted 15–6 in favor of Wright's nomination on January 23, and the U.S. Senate confirmed Wright in a 59–38 vote on February 3, 2025; he was sworn in later the same day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Chris 1965 births 21st-century American businesspeople American chief executives of energy companies Businesspeople from Colorado Colorado Republicans Living people MIT School of Engineering alumni Second Trump administration cabinet members United States secretaries of energy University of California, Berkeley alumni