Exposing President Trump's 'Oily' Billionaire Friends

The Trump administration isn’t just a threat to climate action – it’s a hostile takeover by fossil fuel billionaires. Trump is surrounding himself with fracking CEOs, oil magnates, and pipeline moguls who’ve spent millions backing his campaigns. And now they’re writing the playbook in his second term.

While most people focus on tech oligarchs, we’re not talking enough about the oil barons pulling strings behind the scenes. These executives are helping Trump dismantle environmental protections, shield polluters from accountability, and expand fossil fuel production no matter the cost to our health, economy, or democracy.

The Make Polluters Pay campaign is exposing Trump’s oily inner circle, and calling out the billionaires who want to profit while the planet burns.

Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy / Fracking CEO

Wright is a fracking executive who donated over $200,000 to Trump’s campaign. He now leads the Department of Energy, despite publicly denying the link between fossil fuels and worsening wildfires.

“He is indeed an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard” – Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) during Wright’s confirmation hearing.

Talking Points

1

Chris Wright made millions from fracking – and now he’s setting national energy policy. That’s like putting Big Tobacco in charge of public health.

2

He claimed wildfire warnings are just “hype” while people in Colorado and California lost their homes to fires fueled by fossil-driven climate change.

3

He’s not just expanding fossil fuel production, he’s using public office to discredit climate science and prop up an industry that funds him.

Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator / Fossil Fuel Ally

Zeldin is a former Congressman and current Trump loyalist now running the Environmental Protection Agency.

He used to believe reducing our reliance on fossil fuels would make us better stewards of our environment. Now, he’s already cut two-thirds of the EPA’s budget and blocked $20 billion in climate funding.

After President Trump won the election, Zeldin said he was one of the president’s first calls. “He was decisive,” Zeldin said. “He knew that he wanted me to come serve as the administrator of the EPA.”

OUR THOUGHTS

Talking Points

1

Zeldin is running the EPA, but he’s acting like it’s the Environmental Polluters Agency.

2

He slashed 65% of the EPA’s budget, stripped staff, and froze climate grants, at a time when extreme weather is hitting harder and more often.

3

Zeldin used to talk about protecting the environment. Now he’s tearing it apart to serve Trump and his oil donors.

Harold Hamm, Trump Energy Advisor / Fracking Magnate

Hamm is the founder of Continental Resources, one of the largest fracking companies in the U.S. and the country’s richest oil man, worth $11.3 billion.

He raised tens of millions of dollars for Trump and is now helping shape his energy platform.

Talking Points

1

Harold Hamm is the billionaire fracking kingpin writing Trump’s energy policy. He’s not just donating, he’s directing.

2

His company helped pioneer the fracking boom that polluted groundwater and fueled methane emissions. Now he wants taxpayers to keep bailing out Big Oil while they rake in profits.

3

When Trump says “drill, baby, drill,” this is the guy whispering it in his ear.

Vicki Hollub, Occidental Petroleum CEO

Hollub is the CEO of Oxy, one of the largest oil companies in the world. She personally donated $400K to Trump, co-hosted a $15 million fundraiser, and personally lobbied Trump to ease a federal investigation into her company.

Talking Points

1

Hollub gave Trump hundreds of thousands of dollars, then asked him to block an investigation into her company’s oil deal. He told her: “You’ll be treated differently under my administration.”

2

She’s not just buying access, she’s getting it. And she’s using it to undermine transparency and accountability for one of the most polluting companies on the planet.

3

This is exactly why we need to make polluters pay – because they’re using their wealth to rig the system in their favor.

Kelcy Warren, Pipeline Billionaire / Energy Transfer CEO

Warren is the CEO of the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline. As one of Trump’s biggest donors, he donated more than $5 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign, and profits off infrastructure that threatens Indigenous land and locks in fossil fuel dependency.

Talking Points

1

Warren built pipelines that violate Indigenous sovereignty and drive climate emissions, and now he’s helping Trump double down on fossil fuel expansion.

2

He gave more than $5 million to Trump in 2024, and in return, he’s getting a pipeline-friendly agenda, environmental rollbacks, and zero accountability.

3

Warren is a textbook example of how fossil fuel billionaires buy power — and bulldozing communities to keep it.

Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary / Hedge Fund Billionaire

Bessent is a former hedge fund manager turned Treasury Secretary. He made his fortune betting on financial markets and now wants to reshape the U.S. economy to serve fossil fuel interests. His “3-3-3” plan includes ramping up oil and gas production by 3 million barrels per day by 2028.

Talking Points

1

Bessent is a billionaire financier who’s now using his power at the Treasury Department to boost oil and gas production and protect fossil fuel profits.

2

He’s not focused on working families or climate resilience — he’s focused on drilling. His energy plan would lock in decades of oil and gas dependence while the world transitions to clean energy.

3

Bessent’s using one of the most powerful economic positions in government to double down on the very industries driving climate chaos, threatening our long-term financial stability.