Charles Koch became chairman and CEO of Koch in 1967. In 2023, he became co-CEO. During his tenure, Koch has transformed from a small company whose main business was a crude oil gathering system in Oklahoma into a diverse group of companies employing about 120,000 people worldwide, with a presence in more than 50 countries. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested more than $168 billion in growth and improvements.
Koch is based in Wichita, Kansas, and is one of the largest private companies in America, with annual revenues that have exceeded $125 billion. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in manufacturing, agriculture, pulp and paper, packaging, consumer products, building materials, glass, automotive components, refining, renewable energy, chemicals and polymers, electronics, software, network solutions, health care technology, engineered technology, project services, recycling, supply chain and logistics, commodities trading, real estate and investments.
Charles attributes the success of Koch to the company’s application of Principle Based Management™ (formerly known as Market-Based Management®), a management framework grounded in proven principles of human progress. Principle Based Management enables individuals or organizations to succeed long term by focusing on creating value for others and helping people achieve lives of meaning and contribution. Charles continues to develop this framework together with employees, scholars, nonprofit leaders and fellow business leaders.
Charles is also the founder of Stand Together, a philanthropic community made up of hundreds of business leaders and thousands of social entrepreneurs dedicated to applying principles of human progress to address some of society’s biggest challenges. Through his philanthropy, he has supported a diversity of academic, community and public policy initiatives focused on fostering a society where every person has the opportunity to realize their potential. He helped found and build several other organizations, including the Cato Institute, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Youth Entrepreneurs, the Bill of Rights Institute, and the Charles Koch Foundation.
In recognition of his business leadership and community involvement, he has received numerous honors and awards, including three honorary doctorates. Charles earned a bachelor’s degree in general engineering (1957) and two master’s degrees in nuclear and chemical engineering (1958 and 1959) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1935, where he continues to reside with his wife of more than 50 years, Liz. They have two children, Elizabeth and Chase, and three grandchildren.