William Koch Net Worth & Biography

Anyone who has heard or read about the Koch family may know about Mr. Fred Chase Koch, the American business tycoon who founded Koch Industries, a business empire that is based on oil refining and is known the world over as one of the largest privately-owned oil refining firms on the globe. Naturally an heir to the Koch oil company as a son of its founder, William Koch left the Koch Industries and went on to set up and lead the Oxbow Group, an energy development holding company headquartered in Florida, US. Besides that, Mr. Koch is known to be an avid collector of arts, maritime memorabilia, and wines. He owns an assortment of military vehicles and his collection of maritime memorabilia includes paintings of seascapes and ships, antique nautical instruments, and model shops. More details have been made available in the article below.

Early Life: Childhood, Education

Mr. William Ingraham Koch was born in Indiana on May 3, 1940 to Fred Koch and Mary Clementine. His father, Fred, was the founder of the oil refining conglomerate Koch Industries, and his paternal grandfather, Harry Koch, a Dutch immigrant, was a founding shareholder of Acme, Quanah, and Pacific Railway the founder Quanah Tribune-Chief newspaper. He had a twin brother named David Koch. His other brothers are Frederick R. Koch and Charles Koch.

For his education, William studied at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from which he graduated with his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering.

Professional Life: Business career

William Koch and his eldest brother Frederick Koch had inherited the family’s company, Koch Industries from their father. He was fired from the company in 1980 after he tried to take over the company from Charles and failed. In 1983 the share they held in the company netted them a profit of $800 million in a sale to their brothers, David and Charles. Legal disputes against David and Charles lasted nearly twenty years.

After leaving Koch Industries, Bill became the founder and president of an energy development holding company called the Oxbow Group, based in West Palm Beach, Florida.  He also invested in the supercomputer company Kendall Square Research.

Mr. Koch is the co-chairman of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a civic group that was established to fight the Cape Wind project to construct an offshore wind farm of 130 turbines. In 2005, the businessman freely donated the sum of $500,000 to the alliance directly and over $1 million toward campaigner efforts to defeat the project.

Other Endeavors

His business life aside for a moment, Bill Koch won the 1992 American Cup with the yacht America3. The following year, he was elected to America’s Cup Hall of Fame and was later inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2018.

He is also a known art and wine collector. A number of military vehicles have been found at his Colorado ranch and his collection of maritime memorabilia includes paintings of seascapes and ships, antique nautical instruments, and model shops.

Personal Life: Wife, Children, Private Interests

In 1994, Bill Koch married Joan Granlund, whom he had a son with before their marriage ended in divorce.

In 2005, he remarried Bridget Rooney at a ceremony in Colorado. They have one daughter together. Bridget Koch is the granddaughter of Art Rooney, the original owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football franchise.

Mr. Koch and his family are part-time residents of Palm Beach, Florida.

William Koch Net Worth

Bill Koch’s net worth is approximately $2 billion dollars. His career as a businessman, art collector, and sailor can be highlighted as the major source of the wealth he enjoys today. Born and raised in Indiana, Koch is one of the richest people in the state of Florida.

He is the son of Fred Koch, the founder of Koch Industries which is currently the second-largest private company in the United States, behind Cargill, with revenues north of $100 billion per anum. Bill sold his stake in the family business to his brothers and moved on with other things for himself after losing out in a legal dispute against his brothers after he felt that he was undercharged during the sales of his shares in the family business.

A staunch Republican supporter, William has donated a lot of money to the Republican Party and to its candidate, including to Mitt Romney’s 2012 Presidential campaign. He is also a sailing enthusiast and a famous collector of wine and art.