David H. Koch
David H. Koch Koch in 2007 Born David Hamilton Koch (1940-05-03) May 3, 1940 (age 74) Wichita, Kansas, USA Monuments David H. Koch Theater Residence Manhattan, New York, USA Citizenship United States Education M.S. in Chemical Engineering Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., M.S.) Occupation VP of Koch Industries Known for Philanthropy to cultural and medical institutions; Support of libertarian and conservative causes Net worth US$ 36 billion (2014) Political party Libertarian (before 1984), Republican Opponent(s) Ran on Libertarian ticket for Vice President in 1980 election against Carter–Mondale, and Reagan–Bush Board member of Aspen Institute, Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, Americans For Prosperity Foundation, WGBH, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Americans for Prosperity, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Ballet Theatre, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Deerfield Academy, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, American Museum of Natural History Spouse(s) Julia M. Flesher Koch Children David Koch Jr. Mary Julia Koch John Mark Koch Parents Fred C. Koch Mary Robinson Relatives Siblings: Frederick R. Koch Charles Koch Bill Koch Awards Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters - Cambridge College; Corporate Citizens Award - Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars David Hamilton Koch (/ˈkoʊk/; born May 3, 1940) is an American businessman, philanthropist, political activist, and chemical engineer. He joined the family business Koch Industries, a conglomerate that is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, in 1970. He became president of the subsidiary Koch Engineering in 1979, and became a co-owner of Koch Industries, with older brother Charles, in 1983. He is now an executive vice president. Koch is an influential libertarian, having financed and run on the 1980 U.S. Libertarian Party presidential ticket and founded Citizens for a Sound Economy. Koch has contributed to several charities including Lincoln Center, Sloan Kettering, a fertility clinic at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the American Museum of Natural History's David H. Koch Dinosaur Wing. The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, home of the New York City Ballet was renamed the David H. Koch Theater in 2008 following a gift of 100 million dollars for the renovation of the theater. Condé Nast Portfolio described him as "one of the most generous but low-key philanthropists in America". He and his brother Charles have also donated to political advocacy groups, including Americans for Prosperity, and to political campaigns, mainly Republican. He is a survivor of the USAir Flight 1493 crash in 1991. Koch is the fourth richest person in America as of 2012, and the wealthiest resident of New York City as of 2013. He is the ninth-wealthiest person in the world, as of 2014.