Richard Adkerson

Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Freeport-mcmoran

Search every verified Richard Adkerson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Richard Adkerson, former chairman and CEO of Freeport-McMoRan, participated in a moderated discussion with journalist Ernest Scheyder in New Orleans on May 1, 2025, about Scheyder's book "The War Below: Lithium, Copper & the Global Battle For Power." During the event, Adkerson discussed the role of copper in the modern economy, stating that "two-thirds of copper goes into generating, transmitting or using electricity" and that electric vehicles contain "three or four times more copper" than conventional cars. He said that Freeport-McMoRan produces "almost 75% of the copper consumed in the United States" and described permitting as a challenge to developing domestic resources. Adkerson also commented on global copper demand, saying that "China changed everything" and that while his company produces more copper than China as a country, China "consumes almost 60% of the world's copper." He acknowledged that "climate change is real" and expressed concern about the effects of increased hurricane frequency and severity. In a separate appearance in Washington, D.C. on May 14, 2018, Adkerson introduced Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani at a gala dinner hosted by the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce. He praised Mulyani as a "serious minded capable woman" and noted that her talk at a Women's Forum earlier that day was "inspiring for the women but quite frankly it was very inspiring for men."