An East Texas native has been named to the annual Forbes 400 list of the richest people in the United States.
According to Forbes, Kelcy Warren, chairman/CEO of Energy Transfer Equity and chairman of Energy Transfer Partners, is the 136th richest person in America with a net worth of $4.7 billion. In 2017, Warren was ranked the 161st richest person in the U.S.
The 62-year-old White Oak High School graduate and self-made billionaire co-founded the pipeline company Energy Transfer with Texas Rangers co-owner Ray C. Davis in 1995.
In March 2017, following an executive order by President Donald Trump, Energy Transfer Partners finished building the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline. The company says the pipeline can transport up to half-a-million barrels of oil a day.
A music fan, Warren also produces albums for singer-songwriters at his Austin-based music studio, Music Road Records.
Since 2007, he has also hosted the Cherokee Music Festival which is an annual non-profit event to raise money for children's charities.
To date, more than $2,000,0000 has been raised for groups such as:
Cherokee Home for Children
Children's Medical Center of Dallas
Dallas Children's Advocacy Center
Grant a Starr
Heroes for Children
Hill Country Children's Advocacy Center
Shriner's Hospital for Children
St. Jude Children's Research Center
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
Williamson County Children's Advocacy Center
The Kelcy Warren Foundation supports the Caddo Lake Institute, an organization with the mission of protecting the ecological, cultural and economic integrity of Caddo Lake, its associated wetlands and watershed.
In 2012, he also donated $10,000,000 to the city of Dallas to build the 5-acre Kyle Warren Park, which is named after his only son.
When he was a teenager, Warren would spend his summers as a welding assistant and floor sweeper at the Sun Oil warehouse in East Texas. After graduating from White Oak High School, he received is bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1978.
