Born in Gladewater, Texas, Warren grew up in White Oak, Texas, the youngest of four sons of Hugh Brinson Warren and Bertie Lee Kirby.[1] His father worked as a field hand for Sun Pipeline, a company now owned by Warren.[7] Warren went to White Oak High School.
He started his career working for the Lone Star Gas Company.[2][3][6] From 1981 to 1992, he worked for Endevco.[2][6] He served as executive vice-president Cornerstone Natural Gas from 1989 to 1990, and as president and CEO from 1993 to 1996.[2][3][4][6] He has been the co-chairman and co-CEO of Energy Transfer Partners since 2007.[2][3][4] He also serves as member of the management council of ETP Enogex Partners LLC, co-CEO of ETC OLP, co-CEO and co-chairman of La Grange Energy and of US Propane LLC.[2] He is a former co-chairman of Le Gp, OEC Compression.
From 1996 to 2000, he sat on the board of directors of Crosstex Energy.[2][3] He serves on the advisory board of his alma mater, the University of Texas at Arlington.[2][6]
Warren purchased the Roatan Electric Company (RECO) in 2008, where he serves as president and chairman of the board.[9] RECO invested $7 million on a wind farm that was scheduled for completion in 2017.[10]
Warren is chief executive officer and chairman of Energy Transfer Partners. Warren also serves as chairman of the general partner of Energy Transfer Equity. Prior to the combination of the operations of ETP and Heritage Propane in 2004, Warren co-founded the entities that acquired and operated the midstreamnatural gas pipelines that were contributed in the merger. From 1996 to 2000, Warren served as a director of Crosstex Energy, Inc. and from 1993 to 1996, he served as president, chief operating officer and a director of Cornerstone Natural Gas, Inc. Warren has more than 25 years of business experience in the energy industry.
In 2015, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas appointed Warren to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.[11]
In 2022, he ranked No. 289 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America, with an estimated net worth of $3.8 billion.[12] Warren received a COVID stimulus check in 2020 as he had reported large losses previously.[13]
Music
In 2007, he co-founded an independent record label, Music Road Records, with Jimmy LaFave and Fred Remmert.[5]
He collects music memorabilia, and has a collection that includes autographs of Jackson Browne and drumsticks signed by the Eagles.[5]
Philanthropy
In 2020, Forbes gave Warren its lowest score for philanthropy, a "1." This indicates he was in the lowest 20% of billionaires rated.[14]
Warren has hosted the Cherokee Music Festival since it began in 2007. It is a nonprofit event to raise money for children's charities and local public service organizations.[15][16]
In 2012, Warren donated $10 million to help build Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. It is named for his son. As part of the contract, his son cleans up trash from the park once a month.[7] The construction of the park cost about $90 million. Warren's gift was the largest, giving him naming rights.[17]
The Kelcy Warren Foundation supports the Caddo Lake Institution, an organization with the mission of protecting the ecological, cultural and economic integrity of Caddo Lake and its associated wetlands and watershed.[18]
Warren married the former Sherry Johnson on May 18, 1980, in Dallas, and they divorced in 1991. He married Amy Hudson on June 3, 2010, in Dallas. He has one son, Klyde Warren.[8]
He lives in Preston Hollow, Dallas[5] on an 8+ acre estate on Park Lane valued at more than $30 million.[23] In 2012, press reports indicated he owned an estate on an island off the coast of Honduras.[24]
