How Julia Koch became one of the richest women in the world: the widow of billionaire David Koch inherited a family net worth of over US$60 billion ... and a very impressive property portfolio
- The philanthropist wife of the late David Koch has collaborated with The Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Museum of Natural History in New York
- She’s co-chaired at the Met Gala with Anna Wintour and Patrick McCarthy, and used to live at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ former Fifth Avenue flat with her family
As of March 2022, Bloomberg estimates her and her family’s net worth to be U$58.4 billion. Forbes, on the other hand, estimates their wealth to be even higher, at US$61.9 billion.
Regardless of the actual numbers in her bank account, this billionaire, socialite and philanthropist is worth knowing for her remarkable style, work and generosity.
1. She worked as an Adolfo assistant
Born in Iowa, US, in 1962, Julia Margaret Flesher is the daughter of Margaret and Frederic Flesher, who owned a furniture store. They moved to Arkansas when she was eight years old, where her parents opened a “beautiful” clothing shop, per The New York Times.
After graduating from the University of Central Arkansas, Julia moved to New York. She landed a job as an assistant to fashion designer Adolfo, where she worked with many of his high-profile clients, including former US first lady Nancy Reagan.
2. She met David Koch through a blind date
Julia, 27, met her would-be husband, David, 50, via a blind date in 1991. The pair, however, did not instantly hit it off. “I’m glad I met that man because now I know I never want to go out with him,” she has been widely quoted as exclaiming at the time.
Later that year, though, the two would cross paths again at a party. She approached him after the latter had a near-death experience due to a plane crash.
After five years of dating, the couple tied the knot in 1996 at Koch’s home in Southampton, Long Island. They had three kids, David Jr. and Mary Julia, who attend Duke and Harvard, respectively, and John Mark, a student at a Manhattan prep school.