Charles Koch Biography
Charles Koch is a billionaire American businessman who has been the co-owner, chairman, and CEO of Koch Industries since 1967, while his late brother David Koch served as executive vice president.
How old is Charles Koch? – Age
He is 87 years old as of 1 November 2022. He was born in 1935 in Wichita, Kansas, United States. is real name is Charles de Ganahl Koch.
Charles Koch Family – Education
Koch is one of Fred Chase Koch’s four sons by Clementine Mary (née Robinson). Harry Koch, a Dutch immigrant who settled in West Texas and started the Quanah Tribune-Chief newspaper, was also a founding shareholder of the Quanah, Acme, and Pacific Railways. He has three siblings: David Koch, Bill Koch, and Frederick R. Koch. Koch is Koch’s great-grandfather. William Ingraham Kip, an Episcopal bishop, William Burnet Kinney, a politician, and Elizabeth Clementine Stedman, a writer, were some of his maternal great-great-grandparents. Koch received his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after attending a number of private high schools.
Charles Koch Education
He belongs to the fraternity Beta Theta Pi. His academic accomplishments include a 1957 Bachelor of Science in General Engineering, a 1958 Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering, and a 1960 second Master of Science in Chemical Engineering. He was thinking about how to refine oil. Koch began working for Arthur D. Little, Inc. right out of college.
Charles Koch Wife
Since 1972, Koch has been wed to his wife Liz. Chase Koch and Elizabeth Koch are his two children. Prostate cancer has affected Charles and all three of his brothers.
Charles Koch Net Worth
On the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of November 2022, he was ranked as the 13th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $66 billion.
Charles Koch Arena
In order to renovate the basketball arena at Wichita State University, Koch Industries gave $6 million in 2002. The Charles Koch Arena was renamed as a result of the gift, which was made in Koch’s honor. Koch has remained a significant contributor to the university’s athletic department as well. The Koch family foundation and Koch Industries gave the university $11.25 million in December 2014, the largest one-time gift in school history, with $4.5 million of that amount going toward a plan to renovate the arena and increase the academic support center for the athletic program.
A few months later, when Gregg Marshall, the head coach of the men’s basketball team, was considering accepting a job offer to become the head coach of the University of Alabama, Koch led a group of regional businessmen and WSU boosters to increase Marshall’s yearly salary from $1.85 million to $3 million and keep him at the university. The pay increase was viewed as an unprecedented step for a university outside of the Power Five conferences, and it was predicted that Marshall would now rank among the top 10 basketball coaches in terms of salary.
Charles Koch Foundation
Koch supports bottom-up government regulation but acknowledges the existence of anthropogenic climate change. He believes that bottom-up technological innovation from private companies can reduce emissions while increasing productivity and cutting costs. He has contributed significantly to political candidates and groups that oppose environmental regulations. Koch-funded Pacific Legal Foundation has filed lawsuits opposing tighter environmental regulations. The Charles Koch Foundation gave the American Enterprise Institute $2.1 million over a 20-year period for its efforts to deny climate change.
The American Institute for Economic Research, a right-wing libertarian think tank that supported the Great Barrington Declaration, has also received funding from Koch. In 2018, his Charles Koch Foundation donated $68,100. Between 2014 and 2019, the declaration’s sponsor paid Emergent Order, a public relations company that is funded by Koch’s Foundation, a total of $1.4 million.
Charles Koch Institute
Koch got involved with Harper’s Institute for Humane Studies after reading Harper’s book and eventually became one of its main supporters. He has been a member of the IHS board since 1966. Since the 1980s, IHS has taken a greater interest in advancing the careers of aspiring journalists, policy experts, and educators who have a passion for classical liberal thought. The Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program is one of the initiatives the IHS manages. It has “supported more than 900 students during eight-week internships at public policy organizations, both in D.C. and across the country.” Additionally, the Charles G. Koch Foundation supports almost 200 American higher education institutions.
The interest in studying free societies with a focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying the premise that economic freedom benefits humanity is what unites all of the Koch-funded programs. He and Murray Rothbard, along with Edward H. Crane, co-founded the Cato Institute in 1977. In 2008, Koch was listed among the top 50 American donors by Businessweek. Koch donated $246 million between 2004 and 2008, focusing on “libertarian causes, funding for academic and public policy research, and social welfare.” In appreciation for his financial support “through scholarships, faculty recruitment, and research grants,” Koch received an Honorary Doctorate from George Mason University.
The founding of the anti-war think tank Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, which is supported by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, was announced by the Charles Koch Foundation in June 2019. He serves on the board of the George Mason University think tank Mercatus Center, which conducts market-focused research.
Charles Koch House
In addition to his brother David’s Aspen estate on the same street, Charles also owns a condo in Vail, Colorado, and a getaway home at the Vintage Club, a luxurious resort close to Indian Wells, California.
Two championship golf courses by Tom Fazio are part of the exclusive country club-style community known as The Vintage Club. According to Deirdre Coit of Compass, a local agent in the area, in order to join the club, two or three other members must sponsor an applicant. Business tycoons are among the group’s members; Mr. Koch’s property is located directly across from that of the late Mark Hurd, co-president of Oracle.
According to records, Mr. Koch paid $10 million for his first home in Indian Wells, which was about 7,500 square feet in size. He later invested $3.25 million to purchase a second property close by in 2018. Homes in the Vintage Club, according to Ms. Coit, are listed for between $4 million and $12 million.
Charles Koch Book
Market-based management (MBM), Koch’s approach to business, is discussed in his book The Science of Success from 2007. In an interview with the Wichita Eagle, he claimed that Koch Industries’ 2004 purchase of Invista was what spurred him to write the book in order to provide new employees with a “comprehensive picture” of MBM. MBM is “based on rules of just conduct, economic thinking, and sound mental models,” according to the website of the Market-Based Management Institute, which Koch founded in 2005. “It is organized in and interpreted through five dimensions: vision, virtue and talents, decision rights, incentives, and knowledge processes,” the website adds. In the book, Koch makes an attempt to apply the Austrian entrepreneurial theory of Mises and Israel Kirzner as well as Friedrich Hayek’s theory of spontaneous order to organizational management.
Charles Koch Political Party
In 1980, Charles backed David’s bid for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket. The William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership was given to Koch in 2011. Regarding the unfairness of corporate welfare and mass incarceration in 2016, Koch sided with Bernie Sanders. Through a political action committee, Koch’s Koch Industries contributed $2.8 million to Republican Party causes in 2020. $221,000 from Koch Industries was given to Democratic Party causes.