Paul L. Foster

Paul L. Foster is an American businessman who is the CEO of Franklin Mountain Investments. He is the founder and former chairman of Western Refining, a Fortune 200 and Global 2000 oil refiner and marketer based in El Paso, Texas.

Life

Foster was raised in Lovington, New Mexico and graduated high school there in 1975. He attended Baylor University, where he was a member of the Texas Theta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, graduating in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Foster and his wife donated $5 million to help fund major renovation of the 55-year-old Sun Bowl Stadium at the University of Texas at El Paso.

In November 2007, Foster was appointed to the board of regents of the University of Texas System by Governor Rick Perry. In 2009, Foster was elected vice chairman of the board of regents. In 2010 and 2011, he was re-elected as vice-chairman. In 2012, he was elected as chairman of the board of regents. In 2013, he was re-appointed to the board of regents. Foster is on the board of trustees for the Baylor College of Medicine and a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.

, Forbes listed Foster's net worth as $1.5 billion.

Foster significantly increased his real estate holdings in Downtown El Paso in 2019.

He is a member of the Borderplex Alliance.

Politics Foster has donated at least one million dollars to Freedom Partners Action Fund, a conservative Super PAC affiliated with the Koch Brothers.

After the 2021 Texas power crisis, it was made public that the chair of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) did not live in Texas. That person, and other non-Texas residents of the board, lost their jobs and in October 2021 Foster became ERCOT's Chairperson. He resigned in June 2024.