Jeffery Hildebrand (born 1959) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Hilcorp Energy Company.
Hildebrand’s fortune is derived from Hilcorp Energy. He’s the sole owner of the company, according to company spokesperson Justin Furnace.
Hilcorp produced about 366,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2022, according to figures published on their website. Hilcorp’s revenue is calculated by multiplying production against the 12-month average price of WTI cushing oil and Henry Hub gas as of the end of 2022. Hilcorp is then compared to the enterprise value-to-sales and enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiples of publicly traded peers.Hildebrand also owns 6,000 miles of oil and gas pipelines via Harvest Midstream, according to the company’s website. Their revenue is estimated using the average revenue-to-pipeline multiples of three publicly-traded peers, and they are valued using peer enterprise value-to-sales multiples.Hilcorp companies have $5.8 billion of debt outstanding as at August 2023, according to data on Bloomberg. This debt is recorded as a separate liability.Hildebrand owns about 8.4% of Archrock, Inc., a natural gas contract compression services company, through holding companies including JDH Holdings and Hildebrand Enterprises, according the company’s 2023 proxy statement.Justin Furnace, a spokesman for Hildebrand, said in 2012 the billionaire declined to comment on his net worth. Requests for comment since by phone and e-mail haven’t been returned.
Biography
Education: University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin
Born in Houston in 1959, Jeffery Hildebrand’s father was a veterinarian who owned an animal hospital near the airport, according to the Houston Chronicle. His mother was a pilot, best known for winning the cross-country Powder Puff Derby before dying in a crash during the Angel Derby Air Race in 1974.
After attending the University of Texas at Austin as an undergraduate, Hildebrand received a masters degree in petroleum engineering at the college’s Cockrell School in 1985. He worked as a petroleum geologist for Dan A. Hughes Co., American Energy Capital Corp. and Exxon Company U.S.A. before founding Hilcorp Energy in 1989. While much of the industry was struggling under the low oil prices of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hilcorp expanded, often using debt to buy assets.
In recent years, Hildebrand has sold some of his Texas and Louisiana wells, and has raised $3.3 billion since 2010. In 2011, he purchased Cook Inlet wells from Chevron in his first foray into Alaskan exploration and production. Hilcorp was the largest closely held oil and gas producer in the U.S. in 2015, according to data compiled by IHS Herold and published in the Oil and Gas Finance Journal in 2016.
Hildebrand is married with three children. He focuses much of his charitable giving on related educational outreach programs.
Milestones
- 1981 Graduates from University of Texas at Austin with a geology degree.
- 1985 Receives masters degree in petroleum engineering.
- 1988 Starts Hilcorp after employer, American Energy Capital, is sold.
- 1990 Makes early acquisition with Anglo-Dutch Investment Co.
- 2007 Sells a portion of Hilcorp’s Louisiana fields for $135 million.
- 2011 Hilcorp Resources sold to Marathon Oil. Hilcorp gets $2.37 billion.
- 2012 Sells collection of Gulf of Mexico fields for $550 million.
- 2013 Buys Texas oil and gas fields from Forest Oil for $325 million.
Memberships
Hildebrand is a member of the following organizations.
- Society of Petroleum Engineers
- American Association of Petroleum Geologists
- National Petroleum Council
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‘s Hildebrand Equine Complex.
In November 2017, Hildebrand 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.
Political contributions
Hildebrand donated $50,000 to Rick Perry when he was running for Governor.
A devout Catholic, Hildebrand has contributed millions of dollars to various Christian organizations, charities, and ministries. As a result, Hildebrand often references a favorite Bible verse, “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48).
