{{short description|American billionaire heir and businessman}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Riley P. Bechtel | image = <!-- Deleted image removed: thumb --> | caption = | birth_name = Riley Peart Bechtel<ref name="rb">{{cite web|title=The birth of Riley Bechtel|url=http://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/riley_peart_bechtel_born_1952_4564387|publisher=Californiabirthindex.org}}</ref> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|3|25}} | birth_place = Alameda County, California, U.S. | occupation = Businessman | title = Former chairman, Bechtel Corporation | education = University of California, Davis (BA)<br /> Stanford University (JD, MBA) | spouse = Susan Bechtel | parents = Stephen Bechtel Jr. | children = 3, including Brendan }}

'''Riley Peart Bechtel''' CBE (born March 25, 1952)<ref name="rb" /> is an American billionaire heir and businessman. He was the chairman of the Bechtel Corporation until April 2017.<ref name=AAAS /><ref name="bechtel">[https://www.bechtel.com/about-us/leadership/riley-bechtel/ Bechtel biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409143833/http://www.bechtel.com/riley_p_bechtel.html |date=2008-04-09 }}</ref> As of July 2021, his estimated net worth is US$2.7 billion.

==Early life and education== He is the great-grandson of Warren A. Bechtel, the company's founder. His parents were Elizabeth Hogan and Stephen Bechtel Jr., who was the former chairman and CEO of the company.<ref>[http://www.betathetapi.org/documents/resources/awards/31bechtel.pdf Beta Theta Pi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706151311/http://www.betathetapi.org/documents/resources/awards/31bechtel.pdf |date=2011-07-06}}</ref>

He attended The Thacher School, a boarding school.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wallack |first1=Todd |title=Why some big-time donors like to stay under wraps / When discretion is the better part of philanthropy |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Why-some-big-time-donors-like-to-stay-under-wraps-2509347.php |accessdate=27 October 2020 |work=SFGATE |date=14 December 2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://campus.thacher.org/pdf/news/TN-spr-sum00.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2020-10-27 |archive-date=2020-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102101053/https://campus.thacher.org/pdf/news/TN-spr-sum00.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> He received a bachelor's degree in political science and psychology from the University of California, Davis, and a JD/MBA from Stanford University in 1977.<ref name="bechtel" /> He was admitted to the State Bar of California in November 1979 and joined the American Bar Association.<ref name="bechtel" />

==Career== He worked for the law firm of Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges.<ref name="bechtel"/> He joined Bechtel full-time in 1981 and was elected president and chief operating officer in March 1989.<ref name="bechtel"/> He became CEO in June 1990.<ref name="bechtel"/> In January 1996, he also became chairman of Bechtel.<ref name="bechtel"/>

He sits on the board of directors of the international council of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (since 1995), the Fremont Group (owned by Bechtel Corporation), the Fremont Group (which in turn runs Trinity Ventures, LP), Fremont Investors, Inc. (owned by Bechtel Corporation), and Sequoia Ventures, Inc. (limited partner of Bechtel Corporation).<ref name="bechtel"/> He was a board member of Theranos.<ref>{{cite web|title=A singular board at Theranos |publisher=Fortune |date= June 12, 2014 |url=http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-board-directors/ |accessdate=2015-10-12}}</ref>

He is a former member of the Trilateral Commission, the American Society of Corporate Executives, The Business Council, the Business Roundtable, and the National Petroleum Council.<ref name="bechtel"/> He sits on the corporate council of the Conservation Fund and the Board of Trustees of the Ocean Exploration Trust.<ref name="bechtel"/> He also sits on the governing board of the Indian School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business advisory council, Stanford Law School Dean's advisory council, and UC Davis' board of visitors.<ref name="bechtel"/> He was appointed to the President's Export Council by George W. Bush. In 1998, he and his father were presented with the Honor Award from the National Building Museum for their company's contributions to America's built environment.<ref>[http://www.nbm.org/support-us/awards_honors/honor-award/ National Building Museum]</ref> He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter B|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|accessdate=May 29, 2011}}</ref><ref name="bechtel"/> He is also an Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and an Honorary Lifetime member of the American Society of Safety Engineers.<ref name="bechtel"/>

==Wealth== According to ''Forbes'', his estimated net worth is US$3 billion, as of October 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Riley Bechtel & family|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/riley-bechtel/|access-date=2021-10-26|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life== {{BLP sources|date=July 2019}} He resides in California with his wife, Susan. He is a member of the Augusta National Golf Club as well as the all-male Bohemian Club in San Francisco and attends its annual encampment, the Bohemian Grove. He is consistently ranked in the top 200 richest people in the US and the top 500 richest people in the world by ''Forbes'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/richlist2002/LIRQGCP.html?passListId=54&passYear=2002&passListType=Person&uniqueId=QGCP&datatype=Person|title=Forbes.com: Forbes 400 Richest in America 2002|website=www.forbes.com}}</ref> In February 2014, Bechtel announced that, after 25 years, he was stepping down as CEO of Bechtel Corporation because of health reasons associated with Parkinson's disease.<ref>[http://enr.construction.com/people/promotions/2014/0217-bechtel-president-bill-dudley-fast-tracked-into-ceo-roleriley-bechtel-remains-chairman-but-steps-dow.asp Engineering News-Record]</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechtel, Riley P.}} Category:1952 births Category:American chief executives Category:American businesspeople in construction Category:American billionaires Category:Bechtel people Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Living people Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco Category:People from Alameda County, California Category:Stanford Law School alumni Category:University of California, Davis alumni Category:American chief operating officers Category:People from Menlo Park, California Category:Theranos people Riley P. Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire