Koch Chairman and co-CEO Charles Koch was recognized by the Cato Institute for his lifelong advocacy of individual liberty and a free and open society.
The Cato Institute has awarded Koch Chairman and co-CEO Charles Koch with the 2025 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty for his lifelong pursuit of advocating for individual liberty and free enterprise. The award was presented in Washington, D.C., on May 1.
“For decades, Charles Koch has dedicated his entrepreneurial vision, resources and leadership to advancing liberty, human flourishing and the principles of a free and open society,” says Peter Goettler, president of the Cato Institute.
Throughout his life, Charles, who will turn 90 later this year, has championed ideas that empower individuals to innovate, succeed and create value for others. These ideas serve as the foundation of his Principle Based Management™ philosophy, a framework based on principles of human progress that enable individuals and organizations to succeed long term by creating superior value for others.
"With so much change, and chaos and conflict, too many people and organizations are abandoning these principles and turning to power to solve problems," Charles told the guests at the awards gala. "But we know from history, this just makes them worse. People have forgotten that when principles are lost, so are freedom and progress."
Charles Koch receives that 2025 Milton Friedman Award for Advancing Liberty at a gala in Washington, D.C. after being introduced by his son, Chase Koch.
Charles is also the founder of Stand Together, a philanthropic community that helps changemakers tackle the root causes of the United States’ biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, toxic division and more.
In addition to Stand Together, Charles has supported many other organizations dedicated to advancing civil society and economic freedom worldwide, including the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the Institute for Human Studies, the Institute for Justice, Empowered, and the Bill of Rights Institute. His contributions have helped create new generations of individuals working to advance liberty.
“His visionary business leadership, generous philanthropy and dedication to principles of human progress have inspired countless lives and transformed Koch from a small family business more than six decades ago into the remarkable company it is today,” says Dave Robertson, Koch vice chairman and co-CEO.
The prize is named for Milton Friedman, an influential American economist and a leading figure in the Chicago School of Economics. Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1976 for his research on consumption analysis and monetary history.
Friedman was also a public intellectual, known for his books, like “Capitalism and Freedom” and “Free to Choose,” and television appearances where he promoted individual liberty, free-market capitalism and limited government intervention in the economy.
Charles knew and worked with Milton during the last three decades of the economist’s life. Their partnership included the creation of an organization called “BLAST,” Business Leaders Against Subsidies and Tariffs, which the two believed were, and still are, among the most prominent examples of corporate welfare.
The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is a biennial award that recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to advance human freedom. Previous winners include Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong entrepreneur and freedom activist, and the Innocence Project, a nonprofit dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted.
