Rank #2150
William Koch
Net worth $2.0B
Oil, investments · United States
- Born
- May 03, 1940
- Age
- 86
- Source
- Oil, investments
- Residence
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Citizenship
- United States
- Marital status
- Married
- Children
- 6
- Education
- Bachelor of Arts/Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Doctorate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Net worth over time
Biography
- William "Bill" Koch, brother of Koch Industries chairman and co-CEO Charles Koch, is the founder of petroleum coke and sulphur products company Oxbow Carbon Corp.
- The Kansas native formed his own company after selling his stake in Koch Industries to brothers Charles and David (d. 2019) for $470 million in 1983.
- He battled his brothers for two decades over the payout amount. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2001.
- Bill's brother Frederick (d. 2020) also sold his stake in Koch Industries to Charles and David in 1983 and was involved in the ensuing legal battle.
- Koch Industries was started in 1940 by Bill's father, Fred Koch, who improved a method of refining heavy oil into gasoline.
- Bill and David were fraternal twins; the duo went to MIT together and played on the same basketball team.
- The thrice married industrialist built a private Wild West-style town in Colorado, complete with saloons, a jail house and a train station.