Retired CEO of global company established in S.F.
Stephen Bechtel Jr., a San Francisco philanthropist and retired CEO of a worldwide construction firm that started in San Francisco, died Monday morning in his 12th floor penthouse apartment in Pacific Heights. He was 95.
Bechtel’s death was confirmed by a publicist at Bechtel, based in Reston, Va. The firm, with 55,000 employees and many subsidiaries, was founded in San Francisco in 1898 by Bechtel’s grandfather, Warren A. Bechtel. No cause of death was given.
Steve Jr., as he was known, became CEO at age 35 and ran the company from 1960 to 1990.
During his tenure, what had started as an engineering firm focused on projects in the Bay
Area grew into a world leader in the construction industry, building major infrastructure projects on six continents, while sales and employees both grew exponentially.
He retired in 1990 at 65 and was succeeded as CEO by his son, Riley Bechtel.
“My grandfather leaves behind a remarkable legacy of accomplishment, integrity, excellence and commitment to customers and communities,” Bechtel CEO and Chairman Brendan P. Bechtel said on Monday. “In every aspect of his life, he was driven by his strong values and a vision for helping to build a better world, which continue to guide us in partnering with customers today.”
Probably the biggest Bay Area project Bechtel completed under his leadership was the construction of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART). In 1974, Bechtel hired George Shultz and promoted him to president a year later, before he became secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. The two were often seen together with their wives, Charlotte Shultz and Betty Bechtel, in the San Francisco social swirl. Shultz died in February at 100.
The firm moved its global headquarters from San Francisco and Houston to the Washington, D.C., area in 2018. Bechtel’s main focus in recent years had been the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, which concluded operations in December.
“He was a marvelous man,” said retired Marine Maj. Gen. Mike Myatt, who worked for Bechtel from 19952001, managing the construction of a highspeed rail line in Korea.
Later, when Myatt ran the Marines Memorial Club, he could count on his fellow Marine to fund a scholarship every year for high school graduates interested in a STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) through his foundation.
“He really loved San Francisco and anything we needed we could always call him. He was a generous man who wanted to support worthwhile causes,” Myatt said.
Among those causes was the Veterans Memorial, which was dedicated in 2012 in the plaza between the War Memorial Veterans Building and the Opera House. The project cost $2.5 million and the Bechtel Foundation contributed half.
The foundation also made a major donation in order to start construction of the Korean War Memorial, a $4 million monument that opened in 2016 in the Presidio of San Francisco.
“That Bechtel donation was the first large donation we got when we started,” said Gerard Parker, executive director of the Korean War Memorial Foundation. “It had a snowball effect for our fundraising.”
Born in Oakland on May 10, 1925, Stephen Davison Bechtel was a graduate of Piedmont High School who served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned his undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Indiana and an MBA from Stanford University.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush awarded him the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Forbes estimated Bechtel’s net worth in 2021 at $2.9 billion based on a 20% stake in the company.