Billionaire David Koch, 78, who runs Koch Industries with his brother, is leaving the company amid ailing health, according to The Washington Post.
Here are five things to know about the departure:
1. Mr. Koch will also step down as chairman of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a libertarian and conservative political advocacy group. He will take on the title of director emeritus of Koch Industries.
2. Mr. Koch's brother, Charles Koch, announced the retirement in a letter to employees June 4, obtained by The Washington Post. Mr. Charles Koch said his brother has been experiencing declining health since he was hospitalized in summer 2017. No specifics about the illness were released.
3. Mr. Charles Koch will remain chairman and CEO of Koch Industries after his brother departs the company. In the letter to employees, Mr. Charles Koch said his brother was "instrumental" in growing Koch Industries, which the two inherited from their father, into the second largest privately held U.S. company.
4. Mr. Koch was diagnosed with prostate cancer 25 years ago. He has been an avid donor to cancer centers, gifting $217 million to New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, $128 million to New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and $26.5 million to Houston-based MD Anderson Cancer Center.
5. Mark Holden, a longtime Koch network employee who oversees the company's political efforts, told The Washington Post the Koch network will keep expanding despite the loss of one of its founders.