WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire industrialist David H. Koch, who with his older brother, Charles, transformed American politics by pouring their riches into conservative causes, has died at age 79.

Charles Koch announced the death on Friday, saying, “It is with a heavy heart that I now must inform you of David’s death.”

Those who have known the Koch family since the early years say David will be missed for many reasons, including politics and charitable causes.

“His health was not the best recently. I last saw him in Aspen about a year ago,” said longtime Koch family friend, Nestor Weigand. “He probably was one of the most generous, wealthy people in the United States. Most generous. He gave to all kinds of causes and some of them were widely known and some of them weren’t.”

David Koch, who lived in New York City, was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential candidate in 1980. He was a generous donor to conservative political causes as well as educational, medical and cultural groups.

The Koch brothers have been known best known for a vast political network they built that became popularly known as the “Kochtopus” for its far-reaching tentacles in support of conservative causes. The brothers founded the smaller-tax, small government group Americans for Prosperity, which continues to be one of the most powerful conservative groups in U.S. politics.

“I was taught from a young age that involvement in the public discourse is a civic duty,” David Koch wrote in a 2012 op-ed in the New York Post. “Each of us has a right — indeed, a responsibility, at times — to make his or her views known to the larger community in order to better form it as a whole. While we may not always get what we want, the exchange of ideas betters the nation in the process.”

WSU Political analyst Jeff Jarman points out that David Koch will be missed, not just for politics.

“The legacy of David, it’s interesting that he is both as influential as he was in politics as he was in philanthropy,” said Jarman. “And I think both of those areas will miss his presence.”

On a personal note, Weigand says David was very, very good at basketball. A work ethic that extended in the early years to MIT where David Koch earned an engineering degree.

David Koch used his engineering degree while he helped his brother, Charles, run Koch Industries.

Some who worked with David say he had a booming voice, with a booming personality. They also say David was passionate about water, using his degree to help configure water filtration for use around the globe in the fight for clean water.

In politics both Charles and David Koch have remained very high profile.

While celebrated on the right, David Koch and his brother are demonized even today by Democrats who see them as a dark and conspiratorial force, the embodiment of fat-cat capitalism and the corrupting role of corporate money in American politics.

FILE – In this Aug. 1, 2015 file photo, Chairman of the board of Americans for Prosperity David Koch speaks at the Defending the American Dream summit hosted by Americans for Prosperity at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Koch, a major donor to conservative causes and educational groups, has died on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. He was 79. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)

The Kochs invested heavily in fighting President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul; they fought to bring conservative voices to college campuses; and they developed a nationwide grassroots network pushing conservative causes and candidates at the state and national levels.

The one exception: President Donald Trump. The Kochs refused to endorse Trump in 2016, warning that his protectionist trade policies, among other priorities, weren’t sufficiently conservative.

David Koch, however, had stepped away from a leadership role in recent years because of declining health. He was a visible presence at the network’s semi-annual donor retreats, but his brother had emerged as its face and mouthpiece.

Related Content Statement from Koch Industries Chairman and CEO Charles Koch on the passing of his brother David

After battling prostate cancer for 20 years, David Koch told a reporter following the 2012 Republican convention that he was thinking about what he would someday leave behind.

“I like to engage where my part makes a difference,” he told The Weekly Standard. “I have a point of view. When I pass on, I want people to say he did a lot of good things, he made a real difference, he saved a lot of lives in cancer research.”

David Koch donated $100 million in 2007 to create the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also gave millions of dollars to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, the M.D. Anderson Cancer in Houston and other institutions.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History named in his honor a wing dedicated to the story of human evolution over 6 million years. He donated $15 million to fund the 15,000 square-foot hall.

“The program has the power to influence the way we view our identity as humans, not only today, but for generations to come,” he said in a statement at the time.

David Koch, an engineer trained at MIT, joined Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kansas, in 1970 and served on its board. He also served as chief executive officer of Koch Chemical Technology Group LLC, a Koch subsidiary. He retired from the company in 2018.

Charles and David Koch, each with an estimated net worth of $50.5 billion, tied in 11th place in 2019 on the Forbes 500 list of the nation’s richest men.

Two of the Koch brothers, Frederick and Bill Koch, sued the other two, claiming in a 1998 trial that they were cheated out of more than $1 billion when they sold their stake in Koch Industries back in 1983. David and Bill Koch were twins.

The dispute stemmed from a falling out three years earlier when Bill Koch criticized Charles Koch’s management of the company, and with Frederick Koch’s support, tried to gain control of the company’s board of directors. After the takeover move failed, the board fired Bill Koch as an executive. Bill and Frederick Koch and other dissident stockholders sold their interests, and the brothers later sued claiming the company withheld crucial information that would have led to a higher sale price.

Bill and Frederick Koch lost their case, but the lengthy public trial offered a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the Koch family.

The Kochs’ father, Fred Koch, guessed early, before two of his boys were out of diapers and before two were even born, that wealth might split his family apart.

“It will be yours to do with what you will,” the father wrote in a 1936 letter to his two oldest sons. “It may be either a blessing or a curse.”

David Koch and his wife, Julia Flesher, had three children.

On Friday, Charles Koch evoked the words of a famous economist as he shared news of his younger brother’s death with their network: “The significance of David’s generosity is best captured in the words of Adam Smith, who wrote, ‘to indulge our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature.'”



NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 25: Julia Koch and David Koch attend the opening night celebration of the New York City Ballet at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center on November 25, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 04: Americans for Prosperity Foundation chairman and Koch Industries Executive Vice President David H. Koch (C) listens to speakers during the Defending the American Dream Summit at the Washington Convention Center November 4, 2011 in Washington, DC. The conservative political summit is organized by Americans for Prosperity, which was founded with the support of Koch and his brother David H. Koch. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 14: (L-R) Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas P. Campbell, Philanthropist David H. Koch, Chairman of the Board at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel Brodsky and President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Emily K. Rafferty stand in the future site of the new David H. Koch Plaza during the Fifth Avenue Plaza Groundbreaking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on January 14, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 02: David H. Koch accepts the Laureate Award at the Lincoln Center Spring Gala at Alice Tully Hall on May 2, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Lincoln Center)

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 17: Philanthropist David H. Koch attends the U.S. Olympic And Paralympic Foundation Event Hosted By Ellen and Daniel Crown on May 17, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Lars Niki/Getty Images for United States Olympic Committee)

Statement from Koch Industries Chairman and CEO Charles Koch on the Passing of his Brother David

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my brother David. Anyone who worked with David surely experienced his giant personality and passion for life. Twenty-seven years ago, David was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given a grim prognosis of a few years to live. David liked to say that a combination of brilliant doctors, state-of-the-art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay. We can all be grateful that it did, because he was able to touch so many more lives as a result. “In those bountiful years, he married the lovely Julia Flesher, had three exceptional children, while remaining dedicated to the long-term success of Koch Industries. David also made institution changing philanthropic commitments to hospitals, cancer research, education and the arts. The significance of David’s generosity is best captured in the words of Adam Smith, who wrote, ‘to indulge our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature.’ “While this is a very sad day for us all, I want you to know that David was proud of the extraordinary work you all have done to make Koch Industries the successful company that it is today. He will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.” David retired as executive vice president of Koch Industries in 2018. He leaves behind his wife, Julia Koch, and three beloved children. David’s family released this statement on his passing: “While we mourn the loss of our hero, we remember his iconic laughter, insatiable curiosity, and gentle heart. His stories of childhood adventures enlivened our family dinners; his endless knowledge rendered him our ‘walking Google.’ His sensitive heart had him shed a tear at the beauty of his daughter’s ballet, and beam with pride when his son beat him at chess. We will miss the fifth link in our family. “Yet, we wish for all to celebrate the life and impact of this most generous and kind man. He believed he had a responsibility to a world that had given him so many opportunities to succeed. David’s philanthropic dedication to education, the arts and cancer research will have a lasting impact on innumerable lives – and that we will cherish forever.”

To learn more about David Koch’s life and legacy, click here.

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