Charles Koch

Charles Koch has been chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, America’s largest private company by revenue, since 1967. The diversified company has some $115 billion in revenues from businesses including pipelines, chemicals, Dixie cups, and Stainmaster carpet. His father, Fred Koch, improved a method of refining heavy oil into gasoline in 1927 and started the family business in 1940. The Kansas native owns a 42% stake in the firm, as did his brother David, who died in August 2019. In 1983 Charles and David bought their two other brothers’ stakes in Koch Industries, reportedly for nearly $800 million. His son Chase heads the company’s venture capital arm, which has invested in hybrid cloud firm D2iQ and 3D metal printing startup Desktop Metal.