Charles Koch

He has expressed concern for too much government regulation in the U.S., stating that "we could be facing the greatest loss of liberty and prosperity since the 1930s."

In addition, he has warned that drastic government overspending and a decline of the free enterprise system will prove detrimental to long-term social and economic prosperity.

According to Stephen Moore, influences on Koch include Alexis de Tocqueville, Adam Smith, Michael Polanyi, Joseph Schumpeter, Julian Simon, Paul Johnson, Thomas Sowell, Charles Murray, Leonard Read, and F. A. Harper.

The presidents he most admires include George Washington, Grover Cleveland, and Calvin Coolidge.

Charles de Ganahl Koch (born November 1, 1935) is an American billionaire businessman.

As of February 2024, he was ranked as the 23rd richest man in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated net worth of $64.9 billion.

He received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in General Engineering in 1957, a Master of Science (M.S.) in Nuclear Engineering in 1958, and a second M.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1959.

His focus was on ways to refine oil.

After college, Koch started work at Arthur D. Little, Inc.

In 1961 he moved back to Wichita to join his father's business, Rock Island Oil & Refining Company (now known as Koch Industries).

Koch has been co-owner, chairman, and chief executive officer of Koch Industries since 1967, while his late brother David Koch served as executive vice president.

Charles and David each owned 42% of the conglomerate.

The brothers inherited the business from their father, Fred C. Koch, then expanded the business.

Koch Industries is the largest privately held company by revenue in the United States, according to Forbes.

Koch also supports a number of libertarian think tanks, including the Institute for Humane Studies, the Cato Institute, the Ayn Rand Institute, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

He also contributes to the Republican Party and candidates, libertarian groups, and various charitable and cultural institutions.

He co-founded the Washington, D.C.-based Cato Institute.

Along with his brother, Koch has been an important funder of think tanks that lobby to oppose environmental regulation.

In 1967, he became president of the business, which was then a medium-sized oil firm.

In the same year, he renamed the firm Koch Industries in honor of his father.

Charles's brothers Frederick and Bill had inherited stock in Koch Industries.

Koch has been a director of INTRUST Financial Corp. since 1982 and director of Koch Industries Inc. since 1982.

He is director of resin and fiber company Invista and director of Georgia-Pacific LLC, paper and pulp products.

Koch founded or helped found several organizations, including the Cato Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the Bill of Rights Institute, and the Market-Based Management Institute.

He is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.

Charles Koch describes himself as a classical liberal and has formerly identified as a libertarian.

He is opposed to corporate welfare and told the National Journal that his "overall concept is to minimize the role of government and to maximize the role of private economy and to maximize personal freedoms."

In June 1983, after a legal and boardroom battle, the stakes of Frederick and Bill were bought out for $1.1 billion and Charles and his younger brother David became majority owners in the company.

Despite the settlement, legal disputes continued until May 2001, when CBS News reported that Koch Industries settled for $25 million.

Koch has published four books detailing his business philosophy, Market Based Management (2006), The Science of Success (2007), Good Profit (2015), and Believe in People (2020).

Koch was born and lives in Wichita, Kansas, one of four sons of Clementine Mary (née Robinson) and Fred Chase Koch.

Koch's grandfather, Harry Koch, was a Dutch immigrant who settled in West Texas, founded the Quanah Tribune-Chief newspaper, and was a founding shareholder of Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway.

Among his maternal great-great-grandparents were William Ingraham Kip, an Episcopal bishop, and Elizabeth Clementine Stedman, a writer.

In 2006, Koch Industries generated $90 billion in revenue, a growth of 2000 times over, which represents an annual compounded return of 18%.

, Koch was worth approximately US$41.3 billion (in 2013 $36 billion) according to the Forbes 400 list.

Koch would routinely work 12-hour days at the office (and then spent more time working at home), weekends, and expected executives at Koch Industries to work weekends as well.

In an interview with Warren Cassell Jr., which was recorded in February 2016, Koch stated that as a child he did not live a privileged lifestyle despite growing up in a wealthy family.

Koch said, "My father wanted me to work as if I was the poorest person in the world."

After attending several private high schools, Koch was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.