The governing First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has promoted one of its primary public-facing defenders of its wealth to chief overseer of the faith’s far-reaching financial, real estate, investment and charitable operations.
W. Christopher Waddell, who joined the global church’s Presiding Bishopric in 2016, served under the leadership of Gérald Caussé before the Frenchman was elevated to apostle a little more than a week ago.
In 2023, Waddell, a Los Angeles native who served as vice president of investments for Merrill Lynch before entering full-time church employment, sat for an interview for the newsmagazine show “60 Minutes.” In it, he defended the faith’s massive investment portfolio, describing it as a “rainy day fund.”
“I don’t know if it’s ever becoming excessive because it’s all going to be used at some point,” Waddell said a clip from the show. “We will double the humanitarian work again and then again. We will continue to build temples that require those resources.”
In response to a question that a lack of transparency can breed mistrust, Waddell declared, “We don’t feel it’s being secret. We feel it’s being confidential,” though he added that the difference between the two was a matter of “point of view.”
The 66-year-old leader has also been an outspoken proponent of water conservation, especially as it affects the Great Salt Lake.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Christopher Waddell speaks about preserving the Great Salt Lake in 2023.
“We should acknowledge God’s hands in providing us this blessing [of water] and that our work is not done yet,” Waddell said at a University of Utah 2023 symposium. “We must continue with all diligence if we are to make the difference that is needed. May the Lord grant us all the faith and perseverance to be wise stewards of our water, our land and the resources that flow through them.”
According to the church’s website, the Presiding Bishopric’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, managing its:
• Humanitarian aid and welfare programs.
• Tithing and fast offerings.
• Meetinghouses, temples and other facilities.
• Organization of membership records.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Members Presiding Bishopric announced on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025: Presiding Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, center, first counselor L. Todd Budge, left, and second counselor Sean Douglas, right.
The three-member bishopric also acts as the ecclesiastical overlords of the Utah-based church’s extensive real estate dealings and investment portfolios, including the headline-grabbing account at Ensign Peak Advisors.
Waddell’s counselors include holdover L. Todd Budge, a banker and businessman whose resume includes Bain & Co. Japan, Citibank and GE Capital.
In 2022, the native Californian presented the U.N.’s World Food Program with a $32 million check from the church to address what the humanitarian organization called a “seismic hunger crisis.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) L. Todd Budge, center, visits the World Food Program in Rome in 2022.
“We are so grateful to collaborate with the World Food Program because we know they will get food to those who need it most,” Budge said at the time. “And we thank Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith whose financial sacrifices have made this gift possible.”
Rounding out the trio is general authority Seventy Sean Douglas, who rose through the ranks at Huntsman Corp. to become its chief financial officer before entering full-time church service.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Sean Douglas speaks at a conference on religious liberty in León, Mexico, in August.
Last summer, Douglas, who was born in Salt Lake City, spoke about religious liberty at a gathering in Mexico.
“Religious freedom,” he said, “dignifies the human being and, when respected and protected, becomes a powerful tool for building peace.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Christopher Waddell tour Welfare Square in 2019.