Billionaire David Koch - Famous for Politics and Philanthropy - Dies at 79
Friday, August 23, 2019
David Koch, one of the famous billionaire "Koch Brothers" has died at 79.
The Wall Street Journal writes, "the billionaire libertarian who gave more than $1 billion to charitable causes but was better known for using his money to reshape U.S. politics, has died."
The Koch family released a statement Friday which said, “While we mourn the loss of our hero, we remember his iconic laughter, insatiable curiosity, and gentle heart.”
Koch's net worth was estimated to be $50.5 billion and he was tied with his brother as the world’s 11th-richest person in Forbes magazine rankings.
“Anyone who worked with David surely experienced his giant personality and passion for life,” his brother Charles Koch said in a statement.
Koch's wealth derived from his interest in Koch Industries has interests ranging from oil to beef to paper and is the second-largest closely held U.S. company.
"Though he was a liberal on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, Mr. Koch used his fortune to support conservative causes that favor lowering taxes, free trade and fewer regulations. He was the Libertarian Party’s 1980 vice-presidential candidate," writes the WSJ.
"A gregarious, socially prominent New Yorker, Mr. Koch loved the ballet, had been a dinosaur buff as a child and battled prostate cancer in his 50s and 60s. These were the stories behind his name appearing on cornices at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the American Museum of Natural History and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital — the Manhattan institutions on which some of his $1.2 billion in charitable gifts were bestowed," said the New York Times.