Stephen Davison Bechtel Jr. (May 10, 1925 – March 15, 2021) was an American billionaire, businessman, civil engineer, and co-owner of the Bechtel Corporation. He was the son of Stephen Davison Bechtel Sr. and grandson of Warren A. Bechtel, who founded the Bechtel Corporation. He was known for expanding the global footprint of the corporation through several of its international projects. Some of the projects executed under his leadership of the company included King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as well as Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia as well as oil platforms in the North Sea, liquefied natural gas plants in Algeria, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. Bechtel also served on the board of General Motors and International Business Machines. He had a bachelor's degree from the Purdue University and a master's degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. At the time of his death, he had a net worth of nearly US$3 billion according to Forbes. Early life Bechtel was born in Oakland, California, on May 10, 1925. He was the son of Laura A. Peart and Stephen Bechtel Sr., and the grandson of Warren A. Bechtel, the founder of American construction and civil engineering firm Bechtel Corporation. During his time in high school, he enlisted in Marine Corps Reserve, and went to University of Colorado to study engineering. In 1946, he graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and married Elizabeth "Betty" Mead Hogan, a Berkeley alumna. He earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1948. Career Bechtel joined the family business in 1948. While he initially wanted to enter into home building, he was convinced by his father by showcasing Bechtel Corporation's global projects in a three week trip. He succeeded his father, Stephen Bechtel Sr., as president of Bechtel Corporation in 1960 and chairman in 1969. His career with the company spanned 30 years until his retirement in 1990. During his time, the company which was earlier known for its work on the Hoover Dam and the Bay Area Rapid Transit, expanded its global footprint by working on the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as well as Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia. The last is considered one of the largest