During his primetime speech at last week’s Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump doubled down on his quid pro quo scheme with billionaires from the oil and gas industry, stating at one point: “We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far, we are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy.”
As reported in The Wall Street Journal, his speech was “music to the ears” of wealthy donors at the helm of Big Oil. Since October 2023, Harold Hamm of Continental Resources, Kelcy Warren of Energy Transfer, Jeffery Hildebrand of Hilcorp, and Tim Dunn of CrownRock collectively donated $16 million to Trump’s reelection bid since October – significantly outpacing the more than $20 million donated to the former President’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns combined.
Here is what you need to know about some of the wealthy donors from the oil and gas industry that are fueling Trump’s 2024 campaign:
- Tim Dunn, CEO of Crownquest: Tim Dunn’s oil and gas exploration company, Crownquest, was a founding member of the American Energy Institute, which is backed by notorious purveyors of climate misinformation who have deep financial interests in the oil and gas industry. An extreme conservative who has been one of the largest funders of political campaigns for right-wing politicians and has a long history of anti-climate science activism, Dunn is also the Vice-Chairman of the Texas Public Policy Institute. This organization has been accused of spreading misinformation about climate science.
- Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy: Chris Wright is one of several wealthy donors from the oil and gas industry on the frontlines of the anti-ESG wing’s misinformation campaign. In April 2024, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright appeared before the House Financial Services Committee in a hearing discussing the potential impacts of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed climate risk disclosure rule, where he claimed the rule would impose “immense costs” on companies like the one he runs. However, research shows it would only cost Liberty Energy $739,000 annually, compared to the company’s $556 million in profits and Wright’s $5.5 million compensation package in 2023. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump suggested Wright could become his Energy Secretary at a private gathering in April.
- Kelcy Warren, Executive Chairman of Energy Transfer: In 2011, a devastating winter storm hit Texas. In the aftermath, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) investigated and issued a report recommending the winterization of facilities that contribute electricity to the grid. Instead of welcoming the federal government’s expert assessment and swiftly taking action to implement their recommendations, the state’s leaders moved on. Ten years later, Winter Storm Uri hit a still underprepared and un-weatherized Texas energy system, plunging the state into the cold and the dark for days on end. An estimated 700 people died while Gov. Abbott donor Kelcy Warren’s company, Energy Transfer, raked in a $2.4 billion windfall from the disaster.
