Businesspeople from Houston

Joe B. Foster (July 25, 1934 – May 9, 2020) was an American businessman, oilman and philanthropist from Texas. From 1989 to 2005, Foster was chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Newfield Exploration Company, headquartered in Houston. Previously, Foster was chairman of Tenneco Oil Company and executive vice president and director of its parent, Tenneco Inc. He was with Tenneco for 31 years and also served as chairman of the Tenneco Gas Pipeline Group.Foster was born in Arp, Texas, and attended Texas A&M University. He graduated in 1957 with a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering and a bachelor of business administration degree in general business. In May 1997, he was named a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M University. Foster served as chairman of the National Petroleum Council, an industry advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, and in 1995–1996 served as chairman of the Offshore Committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. He was a director of Memorial Hermann Hospital System and served as chairman of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Greater Houston YMCA, and the Texas A&M Development Foundation. He also served on the boards of Baker Hughes Incorporated and New Jersey Resources Corporation. Foster was chairman and a senior advisor at Tudor, Pickering, and Holt 2008–2016.

Gerald Douglas Hines (August 15, 1925 – August 23, 2020) was an American real estate developer based in Houston. He was the founder and chairman of Hines, a privately held real estate firm with its headquarters in that city. At the time of his death, the company had assets in 25 countries.

Welcome Wade Wilson Sr. (March 17, 1928 – February 16, 2024) was chairman of the Welcome Group—a privately held real estate development firm with 5 million square feet of industrial and manufacturing facilities in over 100 locations in the state of Texas. The company headquarters is located in Houston, Texas (USA). He previously served on the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System, and was a 1949 graduate of the University of Houston.

Carl Edwin Reichardt Jr. (July 6, 1931 – July 13, 2017) was an American banking executive and chief executive officer of Wells Fargo Bank.

C. Fred Chambers (March 22, 1918 – November 13, 1989) was an American oilman and political activist. He was the co-founder of several oil and has companies active in North America and the Netherlands. He was an aide to former President George H. W. Bush.

Joseph Evans Attwell (March 25, 1931 – October 27, 2007) was the youngest managing partner of Vinson & Elkins, the largest law firm in Texas and the largest single law office in the world, from 1981 to 1991.
He lived in Houston, Texas all his life, and was an owner of the Houston Rockets from 1986 to 1995 and Houston Astros from 1978 to 1994. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Welch Foundation from 2005 until his death. Mr. Attwell also served on the board of American General Corporation for 40 years (now AIG), the board of Ocean Energy (now Devon Energy) and many other Fortune 500 and charitable boards. He was a two time Chairman of the Harris County Hospital District Board, the second largest county hospital district in the world. Attwell served as a Trustee of Rice University where the J. Evans Attwell-Welch postdoctoral fellowships honor his name at the University's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. He was awarded Rice's Gold Medal for extraordinary service to the University in 1997.He married Mary Petersen in March 1956. They had five children and six grandchildren, one of whom is named after him.