He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1978.

Warren married the former Sherry Johnson on May 18, 1980, in Dallas, and they divorced in 1991. He married Amy Hudson on June 3, 2010, in Dallas. He has one son, Klyde Warren.

From 1996 to 2000, he sat on the board of directors of Crosstex Energy. He serves on the Advisory Board of his alma mater, the University of Texas at Arlington.

Warren is chief executive officer and chairman of Energy Transfer Partners. Warren also serves as chairman of the general partner of Energy Transfer Equity. Prior to the combination of the operations of ETP and Heritage Propane in 2004, Warren co-founded the entities that acquired and operated the midstream natural gas pipelines that were contributed in the merger. From 1996 to 2000, Warren served as a director of Crosstex Energy, Inc. and from 1993 to 1996, he served as president, chief operating officer and a director of Cornerstone Natural Gas, Inc. Warren has more than 25 years of business experience in the energy industry.

In 2007, he bought the bankrupt Lajitas Resorts in Lajitas, Texas, as a real estate investment.

In 2007, he co-founded an independent record label, Music Road Records, with Jimmy LaFave and Fred Remmert. He collects music memorabilia, and has a collection that includes autographs of Jackson Browne and drumsticks signed by the Eagles.

Warren has hosted the Cherokee Music Festival since it began in 2007. It is a nonprofit event to raise money for children’s charities and local public service organizations.

Warren purchased the Roatan Electric Company (RECO) in 2008, where he serves as President and Chairman of the Board. RECO is investing $7 million on a wind farm that will be complete by 2017.

In 2010, he bought the 3,500-acre BootJack Ranch near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, for $46.5 million. He also owns an 8,000-acre ranch near Cherokee, Texas, the 20,000-acre Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa in Lajitas, Texas, and a private island near Roatán, Honduras.

In 2012, Warren donated $10 million to help build a park in downtown Dallas and named it for his son. As part of the contract, his son cleans up trash from the park once a month.

In 2015, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas appointed Warren to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.

In 2020, he ranked No. 299 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America, with an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion.