The billionaire David Koch, an American industrialist, philanthropist and prominent financier of conservative politics, has died at 79.
Until last year Mr Koch, whose wealth was put at close to $51 billion, was vice-president of Koch Industries, a closely held conglomerate with interests in oil refining, chemicals, commodities, paper and cattle farming, among others.
Mr Koch and his brother, Charles, who is chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, inherited the company from their father, Fred. After his death in 1967, David and Charles turned Koch Industries into a conglomerate that generated $115 billion revenue in 2015, making it the second largest private company in the US after Cargill, the agribusiness group.
The brothers channelled billions of dollars to libertarian and conservative causes, although they