Jeffrey Hildebrand

Jeffery Hildebrand (born 1959) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Hilcorp Energy Company from 1989 until 2018.

Education Jeffery Hildebrand was born in Texas in 1959 and his father was a veterinarian. He received a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981. After working briefly at Exxon as a geologist, He also is a distinguished engineering graduate of the University of Texas at Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering.

Career

Hilcorp Hildebrand worked for American Energy Capital Corporation, the Dan A. Hughes Company, and Exxon Company, until he started Hilcorp Energy Company, an oil and gas exploration and production company. He co-founded Hilcorp in 1990 and later bought out his partner for $500 million in 2003. The company has been ranked on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In December 2015, his company gave all 1,380 employees a $100,000 Christmas bonus. Hilcorp has the highest greenhouse gas emissions of any U.S. oil and gas company.

The company specializes in buying old, low-producing stripper wells. Hildebrand's success has been attributed to his ability to recognize other companies’ underperforming assets and re-managing them. After the Joe Biden administration announced plans to crack down on methane pollution, Hildebrand became one of biggest donors in the oil industry to the Trump 2024 presidential campaign. In August 2023, Abbott appointed Hildebrand as Chair of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Commission, effective August 31, 2023.

Philanthropy and political contributions Hildebrand has made charitable contributions to the Houston Zoo and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. He was a major donor to Texas A&M University's Hildebrand Equine Complex. In November 2017, he donated $25 million to the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. In recognition, the university plans to name the department the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering.

Hildebrand donated $50,000 to Governor Rick Perry during the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election. Hildebrand and his wife, Melissa, contributed $1.2million to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. A devout Catholic, Jeffery has contributed millions of dollars to various Christian organizations, charities, and ministries. In 2025, President Trump nominated Melinda to be U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica.

According to Forbes, Jeffery Hildebrand is worth $10.2 billion as of July 2023. He is the 77th richest American citizen.