What Companies Does Julia Koch Own?

Who is Julia Koch?

Julia Koch is an American philanthropist and socialite, regarded as one of the richest women in the world. According to Forbes, she currently has a net worth of $52 billion. Koch acquired her wealth through her marriage to American businessman David Koch, who was the former president of the largest privately held corporation in the United States: Koch Industries.

Since the death of David Koch in 2019, Julia and their three children have inherited 42% of Koch Industries and she now sits on the board of directors of the organization. In addition to her role at Koch Industries, Koch is an active philanthropist. She serves as president of the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, is on the board of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and previously served on the Board of Directors for the School of American Ballet.

What companies does Julia Koch own?

Koch owns a large percentage of Koch Industries. Although this is the only reported business that she has stakes in, Koch Industries is a multinational conglomerate that has many companies underneath it. Its subsidiaries are involved in a variety of industries, including chemicals, energy, manufacturing, refining, fertilizers, minerals, finance, commodity trading and electronics. Let's explore some of Koch Industries’, and subsequently Julia Koch’s, most notably owned companies.

INVISTA

INVISTA is an industry-leading textile company founded in 2003 as a spinoff of the chemical company Dupont. Invista makes fibers, resin, fabrics and chemicals that are used to manufacture much of the clothing, home and car products that we all use daily. One year after its inception, INVISTA was purchased by Koch Industries for $4.2 billion and was merged with KoSa, another one of its subsidiaries in the polyester business. At the time, this acquisition was Koch Industries' most expensive purchase.

Georgia-Pacific

Georgia-Pacific is one of the largest pulp and paper manufacturers in the world, most known as the maker of Dixie cups and Brawny paper towels. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia and employs more than 30,000 employees globally. Founded nearly a century ago in 1927, it was originally a manufacturer of hardwood, sawmills and plywood. Georgia-Pacific entered the pulp and paper industry in 1957 and by the next decade the company’s sales began exceeding the billions. In 2005, Georgia-Pacific was acquired by Koch Industries for $21 billion but continues to operate as a separate entity today.

Molex

Molex was founded in 1938 and has been a spearhead in the electronics and fiber-optic connectivity industry for the past 80 years. It manufactures connectors, wires, cables and wiring tools for multiple industries, including data communications, vehicles, medical and consumer electronics.

Koch Industries purchased Molex in 2013 for $7.2 billion. The company had already been globally successful at the time, offering 100,000 different products and employing more than 35,000 people around the world. According to Molex, its leaders decided to become a standalone subsidiary of Koch Industries to “provide substantial opportunities for their worldwide employees.” The company continues to be run by its own management team.

Guardian Industries

Guardian Industries is one of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, fabricated glass which is used for architectural, transportation and technical glass applications. In addition, it manufactures plastic coatings for the automotive industry and distributes specialty building products. Guardian was founded in 1932 and now employs over 14,000 people across five continents. Koch Industries completed its acquisition of Guardian Industries in 2013, buying a 44.5% stake in the company.

Infor

Founded in 2002, Infor originally began as an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) organization primarily focused on the manufacturing industry. Since then, the company has expanded its services to cloud computing and is now a global leader of business cloud software solutions, serving more than 65,000 organizations worldwide.

In 2017, Koch Equity – the investment and acquisition subsidiary of Koch Industries – invested over $2.2 billion in Infor and two years later the conglomerate invested $1.5 billion more. Koch Equity purchased full equity in Infor in February 2020 for nearly $13 billion, making the company a wholly-owned, autonomous subsidiary of Koch Industries.