CEO of Koch Industries

It has become increasingly rare to find the words philanthropist, business mogul, social visionary, and freedom fighter, used as descriptions of one and the same person. Yet, such is precisely the case with Charles G. Koch, the 19th placer in Forbes World’s Billionaires.

Charles Koch currently resides in the same local community of Wichita, Kansas, where he lived ever since his birth on November 1, 1935. Attending the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Major in General Engineering (1957) and double Master’s degrees in Nuclear as well as Chemical Engineering (1958 and 1959). Upon completion of his education, he joined Arthur D. Little Inc. for three years before going back to Kansas in 1961 to take over his father’s company.

In 1963, he was promoted from vice president of Koch Engineering Co. Inc. to president; then finally as president of mother company Koch Industries Inc. from 1966-1974. Within six years from when he started, Charles Koch rose to and secured the position of chief executive officer and chairman of Koch Industries. The group’s expansion crossed industries to refineries, fertilizers, pipelines, polymers and fiber, chemical technology, forest and consumer products. His leadership transformed the company to an 80,000 global team with a strong presence in over 60 countries, America’s second-largest private company (2009).

In 1980, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation was instituted with the confidence that “Allowing people the freedom to pursue their own interests, within beneficial rules of just conduct, is the best and only sustainable way to promote societal progress” (in the founder’s on words). Market-Based Management, a management methodology Charles Koch created, continues to develop through this institution.

One of the most distinguished intellectual circles is the Cato Institute, which Charles Koch initiated. Facilitating discussion and collaboration opportunities for the elite learned figures in society, it applies the principles of free markets, peace, and individual liberty.

Non-profit organization Institute for Humane Studies seeks out the crème de la crème of undergraduate and graduate libertarian students. All over the world, scholarship grants with a total value of $400,000, are distributed to worthy students.

Other institutions for which Charles Koch serves influential positions in are Claude R. Lambe Foundation, George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and Koch Associate Program. In 1998, he was the recipient of the Richard M. DeVos Free Enterprise Award for Exceptional Leadership. For his generous contributions and consistent active involvement in philanthropy, he received recognition as one of BusinessWeek’s 50 Top American Givers 2008.