Charles Koch

Charles Koch is the chairman and chief executive officer of Koch Industries, the second-largest closely held business in the United States, based in Wichita, Kansas. Koch is also the cofounder of the libertarian research firm, Cato Institute.As of October 2022, Koch's net worth was $54.1 billion.

Koch is the second eldest child of Frederick Koch, founder of what is now Koch Industries. Koch was born on November 1, 1935, in Wichita, Kansas.

Koch studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned his bachelor's and two master's degrees and was a part of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, alongside his brothers David and Bill. David and Charles also played on MIT's club rugby team together. Koch earned his bachelor's of science in general engineering in 1957, followed by his master's of science in engineering in 1958. A year later, he earned another master's degree, in chemical engineering.

After college, Koch went to work as a consultant for Arthur D. Little, and after two years, he took over his father's business, Koch Industries, in the early 1960s and has grown it more than 2,000-fold and to more than 50,000 employees.

In 1961, he served as vice president of Koch Engineering and, in 1963, was promoted to president. Three years later, in 1966, Koch was promoted again to president of Koch Industries. When his father passed away in 1967, Koch became the chairman and CEO of the firm.

In 2003, Koch founded Stand Together, a network of nonprofits and donor focused on philanthropic and political advocacy causes. Koch and his wife, Liz, give an average of $2 million per year to Kansas charities, while Koch Industries has donated millions to the Salvation Army, an organization Liz has been involved with since 1987.

Koch is also the founder and board member of the Charles Koch Foundation, "supporting innovative education and the study of the institutions that enable a society of mutual benefit, where people succeed by helping others improve their lives."

Koch has been married to his wife Liz since 1972. Together, they have two children, Chase and Elizabeth.Because of his and his brother's personal experiences with prostate cancer, Koch has donated millions to cancer research at MIT, Johns Hopkins University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center.