The familiar face has defended the church’s handling of its wealth and spoken out on the need for water conservation.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) W. Christopher Waddell visits a church disaster relief center in St. Petersburg, Florida, in October 2024. He is the faith’s new presiding bishop.
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.”
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) The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 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 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 former banker and businessman, and the addition of 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.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Christopher Waddell tour Welfare Square in 2019.
This story is developing.