# William Koch [[David Koch]]'s twin brother (b. 1940) and the most combative figure in the Koch family schism — the brother who sued his way out of [[Koch Industries]] and built an independent energy fortune rather than join Charles and David's political machine. Holder of a PhD in chemical engineering from MIT (like his brothers), Bill is an energy magnate, America's Cup-winning yachtsman, and prolific (sometimes litigious) wine and art collector. He sits almost entirely *outside* the Koch political network that defines the family's public image. ## The Family Feud The defining event of Bill's life was the **1980s fratricidal war** over [[Koch Industries]]. Bill, aligned with eldest brother [[Frederick Koch]], challenged Charles's control of the company; he was expelled from the company in 1983, triggering a litigation series against Charles and David that ran from 1983 to 2001 — what *Fortune* called "perhaps the nastiest family feud in American business history." The fight included a suit alleging the company had improperly taken oil from federal and Native American lands. The combined litigation finally settled in **2001**, ending all claims between the brothers; one settlement saw Koch Industries pay $25 million, with Bill receiving a one-third share for bringing the suit. By the end, Charles and David controlled the company outright, and Bill and Frederick were wealthy outsiders. ## Oxbow and Independent Wealth Rather than fade into the family's shadow, Bill founded and built the **Oxbow Group** (Oxbow Corporation), a West Palm Beach-based energy holding company dealing in petroleum coke, sulfur, and other commodities — a fortune entirely separate from Koch Industries. Forbes has estimated his net worth in the multibillion-dollar range (~$4B as of the mid-2010s). His independent wealth is the reason he never needed the family business and could afford a decades-long legal war against his own brothers. ## Yachting, Wine, and Litigation Bill is best known to the public for pursuits far from politics: - **America's Cup:** He bankrolled and skippered the American entry *America³*, which won the America's Cup in 1992. - **Counterfeit wine crusade:** An avid collector, Bill discovered that bottles in his cellar (including some purportedly owned by [[Thomas Jefferson]]) were fakes and launched a multi-front legal campaign against wine fraud. In one prominent case he won a **$12 million punitive-damages** jury award against collector Eric Greenberg over counterfeit bottles bought at auction. The crusade became a signature personal cause. ## Why He Matters Here Bill Koch is the **counter-example within the dynasty**: a Koch brother with comparable wealth and intellect who is essentially absent from the [[Koch Network]] political project. His estrangement underscores that the "Koch brothers" of political shorthand really means *Charles and David* specifically — not the family as a whole. Where Charles built an ideological machine and David its public-facing philanthropy, Bill built ships, sued his siblings, and chased counterfeit Bordeaux. (For the full family structure, see [[Koch Family]].) ## See Also - [[Koch Family]] — The dynasty and its founding schism - [[Charles Koch]] · [[David Koch]] — His estranged brothers who kept the company - [[Frederick Koch]] — His ally in the family feud - [[Koch Industries]] — The company he was forced out of