David Hamilton Koch

Early life

David Koch was born on May 3, 1940, in Wichita, Kansas to parents Mary Clementine and Fred Chase Koch. His father was a chemical engineer and founder of Wood River Oil and Refining Company (later Koch Industries). As one of four sons, David spent his youth with his older brothers Frederick and Charles, as well as his twin brother Bill. He attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, graduating in 1959.

He pursued post-secondary studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning both a Bachelor of Science (1962) and a Master of Science (1963) in chemical engineering. Beyond his academics, Koch was an accomplished athlete at MIT. He played basketball for three years, setting a school record with an average of 21 points per game and held the single-game scoring record of 41 points for almost 50 years until it was broken in 2009.

Career

David Koch started his career working as a technical services manager. He joined Koch Industries in 1970 under the leadership of his brother Charles. Seeing the potential for corporate expansion in major financial cities, David established the company’s New York City office. He became president of Koch Engineering in 1979, which was later renamed the Chemical Technology Group.

In 1983, David and Charles bought out the ownership stakes of their brothers Frederick and Bill for $1.1 billion, securing majority control of Koch Industries. With their joint stewardship, Koch industries transformed from a miz-size oil refining firm into a massive global conglomerate. Their business focus spanned refining, chemicals, fertilizers, paper products, pollution control equipment, trading, and consumer products.

David served as Executive Vice President of Koch Industries for multiple years until health issues forced his retirement in June 2018. Holding four U.S. patents, he was heavily involved in developing technical and chemical innovations within the firm’s engineering divisions.

Aside from his corporate responsibilities, Koch was active in political organization and public policy. In 1980, he ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for Vice President of the United States with presidential candidate Ed Clark, securing over 900,000 votes. He switched to the Republican Party in 1984 but was still involved in libertarian-conservative political funding.

David co-founded Citizens for a Sound Economy in 1984 and served as board chairman for the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Throughout his career, Koch advocated for free-market principles, lower corporate taxation, reduced federal regulation, and bipartisan criminal justice reform. He made substantial contributions to national political campaigns and policy think tanks such as the Cato Institute and Reason Foundation.

David passed away on August 23 2019, at 79 years old. His death came after a nearly 30-year battle with prostate cancer.

Net Worth

According to Forbes, David Koch’s approximate net worth at time of his death in 2019 was $50.5 billion.