With a history of construction stretching over 120 years, the Bechtel family has built some of the world’s most iconic and utililsed structures: the Hoover Dam, NASA’s Space Launch Complex 40, the Channel Tunnel, the Athens Metro and, recently, the Ivanpah solar electric complex of 350,000 heat-generating mirrors in California’s Mojave Desert.
Warren Bechtel began building railroads in the late 1890s. In 1906, after renting a steam shovel to complete a job for the Western Pacific Railroad, his family’s engineering and buidling dynasty was underway, now considered the largest construction company in America.
In its fifth generation of family leaders, Warren’s great-great-grandson, Brendan Bechtel, is the company’s current CEO and Chairman. Brendan’s father, Riley Bechtel, stepped down as CEO in 2014 after serving in that position for 14 years. Riley’s father, Stephen Bechtel, became CEO of the family’s corporation after his father Stephen Bechtel Sr. left the post in 1960.
Bechtel is ranked 11th on Forbes List of America’s Largest Private Companies, with annual revenue of $25.9 billion. The Bechtel family is valued at $2.9 billion, with Riley and Brendan owning an estimated 20 per cent of the company.
