Julia Koch and her family are ranked No. 24 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $81.2 billion. She inherited her fortune from her husband, David Koch, who died in 2019.
Julia Margaret Flesher Koch was born on April 12, 1962, in Des Moines, Iowa. Her parents ran a furniture store, and when she was eight the family moved to Conway, Arkansas, where they opened a clothing shop. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas and worked as a model.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 24, with $81.2 billion, listed as “Julia Koch & family”
- Source of wealth: Koch Industries, the private conglomerate co-owned by her late husband
New York and Marriage
In 1984 she moved to New York City and worked as the fashion designer Adolfo’s assistant, doing fittings for Nancy Reagan. She met David Koch on a blind date in January 1991, and they began dating later that year. She stopped working in 1993 and they married in May 1996 at his home in Southampton. In December 1997 she co-chaired the Met Gala with Anna Wintour and Patrick McCarthy.
Inheritance
- Family: the couple had three children, David Jr., Mary Julia and John
- 2019: David Koch died in August; Julia and the three children inherited 42% of Koch Industries
Homes and Philanthropy
The couple bought an 18-room duplex at 740 Park Avenue in 2004 and an eight-bedroom Manhattan townhouse for $40.25 million in 2018. David Koch’s name is on the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, pictured here.
Why It Matters
Koch Industries is the largest privately held company in the United States by revenue, according to Forbes, and Julia Koch is one of the richest women in the world as a result of her inheritance.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York, named for Julia Koch’s late husband (file photo; she is not pictured). Photo: Don Ramey Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
