Julia Koch | |
|---|---|
 Koch in 2017 | |
| Born | Julia Margaret Flesher (1962-04-12)April 12, 1962 (age 62) Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Central Arkansas |
| Occupations | |
| Title | President ofDavid H. Koch Foundation |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | juliakoch |
Julia Margaret Flesher Koch (born April 12, 1962) is an Americansocialite andphilanthropist who is one of therichest women in the world. As of February 2025, her fortune was over $74.2 billion.[1] She inherited her fortune from her husband,David Koch, who died in 2019.
Julia Margaret Flesher was born inDes Moines, Iowa,[2] on April 12, 1962.[3][4] Her family came from a farming background, but when she was born, her parents, Margaret and Frederic Flesher, owned a furniture store called Flesher's. She spent her early childhood inIndianola, Iowa, then when she was eight years old her family moved toConway, Arkansas, where her parents started a clothing store called Peggy Frederic's, which she considered "a beautiful, beautiful shop".[5] By 1998, her mother still lived in Conway but her father had moved back to Indianola.[5]
After graduating from theUniversity of Central Arkansas and working as a model, Flesher moved toNew York City in 1984, where she worked as fashion designerAdolfo's assistant and did fittings forNancy Reagan.[6][7][5][3]
She met David Koch on ablind date in January 1991, although they did not continue dating at the time.[5][8] She later described her reaction: "I'm glad I met that man because now I know I never want to go out with him".[5] However, the two met again at a party later that year and started dating.[5][8] She stopped working in 1993,[5] and they got married in May 1996 at David Koch's house on Meadow Lane inSouthampton.[6][7][3]
In December 1997, she made what theNew York Times called her "New York society debut" at theMet Gala.[5][9] She was co-chairwoman of the gala that year, along withAnna Wintour andPatrick McCarthy.[9][10][11] McCarthy said she was "one of those people who occur in New York every few years...she's beautiful, she loves fashion, she knows how to entertain, she's married to an extraordinarily rich man."[5]
Julia and David Koch had three children.[12]
Julia and David Koch spent years living in an apartment at1040 Fifth Avenue, but in 2004 they moved to an 18-roomduplex at740 Park Avenue.[7][13][14] According to740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building, David Koch bought the apartment for about $17 million from the Japanese government, which previously used it to house theirpermanent representative to the United Nations.[14] In 2018, the couple also bought an eight-bedroomtownhouse in Manhattan from investorJoseph Chetrit for $40.25 million.[14][15]
David Koch died in August 2019, and Julia Koch and their three children inherited 42% ofKoch Industries.[6][16] As a result, she was listed byBloomberg as the richest woman in the world[17][7] and was included onForbes' list of the 10 richest women in the world in 2020.[18]
In 2022, Koch put the apartment at 740 Park Avenue on the market; a spokesperson said that she wanted to sell it because she was spending more time at houses in Southampton andPalm Beach.[14]
Koch is on the board of directors of Koch Industries.[4] She tends not to seek public attention.[8]
Koch is president of theDavid H. Koch Foundation, which says it has given over $200 million to causes related to science and medical research, education and the arts as of 2022.[19] She also established the Julia Koch Family Foundation, which donates to healthcare, educational and cultural organizations.[20] Between 2007 and 2017, Koch and her spouse donated an average of $63 million annually, including donations to the arts and medical research.[21]
During her husband's lifetime, they donated $1.2 billion to various causes such as theLincoln Center, theMetropolitan Museum of Art, theSmithsonian Museum of Natural History,[22][23] theMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and theNewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.[24]
In 2020 the David H. Koch fund donated about $1 million toDuke University, in 2021 it donated about $1 million toColumbia University, and around 2023 it gave $5 million to theCox Science Center and Aquarium inPalm Beach, Florida. From David Koch's death to the beginning of 2023, the fund did not receive any additional revenue.[25]
In 2012, Koch made a $10 million gift to theMount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, creating the David H. and Julia Koch Research Program in Food Allergy Therapeutics within its Jaffe Food Allergy Institute.[26] In 2016, she donated $10 million to establish the David & Julia Koch research clinic for allergy and asthma at theLucile Packard Children's Hospital atStanford University.[27]
Koch has also given to LSA Family Health Services andNYU Langone, establishing the Julia Koch Endowed Scholarship.[28] Roy I. Davidovitch is the current Julia Koch Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and director of NYU Langone's Hip Center.[29]
In 2024, she donated $75 million to NYU Langone through the Julia Koch Family Foundation for the construction of the Julia Koch Family Ambulatory Care Center, a medical office tower inWest Palm Beach, Florida.[30]
Koch is a member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Board of Trustees,[31] the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees,[32] and the Venetian Heritage Foundation's Board of Directors.[33]
She was formerly on the board of directors of theSchool of American Ballet.[7]
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