David Hamilton Koch ( 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.
In 2008 Koch was the candidate for Vice President of the United States from the United States Libertarian Party. He is an influential libertarian, having financed and run on the 1980 U.S. Libertarian Party presidential ticket and founded Citizens for a Sound Economy. He and his brother Charles have donated to political advocacy groups and to political campaigns, almost entirely Republican.
Condé Nast Portfolio described him as "one of the most generous but low-key philanthropists in America". 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.
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.
He is a survivor of the USAir Flight 1493 crash in 1991.
Born: May 3, 1940 (age 75), Wichita, Kansas, United States
Spouse: Julia Margaret Flesher (m. 1996)
Net worth: 43.1 billion USD (2015) Forbes
Siblings: Charles Koch, Bill Koch, Frederick R. Koch
Children: John Mark Koch, David Koch Jr., Mary Julia Koch
Parents: Fred C. Koch, Mary R. Koch