Bechtel Corporation is a privately owned, multinational civil engineering firm based in the United States. Bechtel, headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 1898 by Warren A. Bechtel, who got his start contracting for the burgeoning U.S. railroad industry.
Bechtel Corporation was a major contributor in the building of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. It has also been involved in several other high profile construction engineering projects, including the Chunnel, several oil pipelines and refineries, the BART, Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong International Airport, and most recently the rebuilding of the civil infrastructure Iraq funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Like most large American companies, Bechtel contributes large amounts of money to United States politicians. In 2003, Bechtel was awarded a $680 million contract by USAID to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq.
Because of their recently awarded Iraq contracts, Bechtel and other American firms like Halliburton have come under intense international scrutiny for their close ties to the current U.S. administration. Within the United States, critics point out that Bechtel donated over a million dollars in campaign contributions between 1999 and 2002. Overseas, even U.S. allies like Britain have been critical of how the U.S. has awarded contracts to American companies.
George Schultz, former U.S. Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, currently sits on both the board of Bechtel and the U.S. Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. Gen. John J. Sheehan, who currently sits on the U.S. Defense Policy Board, is also a vice-president at Bechtel.
Bechtel was ranked as the 6th largest privately-owned company in the U.S. in Forbes Magazine's 2002 "Private 500" list. The company employees over 50,000 people worldwide.
People
- Riley P. Bechtel, CEO. Net worth of $3.2 billion, listed as #50 in Forbes Magazine's list of richest Americans.
- George P. Schultz, former U.S. Secretary of State and a current Bechtel director.
- Gen. John J. Sheenan, USMC (ret.), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, former Special Advisor to Asia for the U.S. Defense Department. Currently serving as Bechtel's General Manager of the Petroleum and Chemical Business Unit for Europe/ Africa/Middle East/South West Asia and is also a Bechtel partner.
- Georganne Proctor, CFO
External links
- Official homepage
- Welcome Aboard the Iraq Gravy Train, an editorial by Terry Jones, April 12, 2003.
- Crude Vision, a report by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies, March 24, 2003. Reproduces the full text of internal Bechtel memos detailing the corporations long involvement with Iraqi oil