Wright, 49, had acknowledged using prostitutes and knowing the dead women but denied killing them. Prosecutors said blood, fibers and other forensic evidence linked him to the crimes carried out over a period of six and a half weeks.
"It is right you should spend your whole life in prison," Justice Peter Gross told Wright.
"This was a targeted campaign of murder."
Wright showed no emotion as he was sentenced for murdering Gemma Adams, 25; Tania Nicol, 19; Anneli Alderton, 24; Paula Clennell, 24; and Annette Nicholls, 29.
Their naked bodies were found in streams and woodland around Ipswich, 70 miles northeast of London.
A pathologist said the evidence showed all the women had been choked or strangled.
"Drugs and prostitution meant they were at risk," Gross told Wright. "But neither drugs nor prostitution killed them. You did."
"You killed them, stripped them and left them. ... Why you did it may never be known," Gross added.
