Koch vs Ambani

Koch, Inc. and Reliance Industries.

The differences

Forbes puts Mukesh Ambani about $7.3B ahead of Charles Koch.Forbes figures from 15 Oct 2026 and 14 Oct 2026.
Charles Koch is about 22 years older than Mukesh Ambani.
Charles Koch is from United States; Mukesh Ambani is from India.
Mukesh Ambani has held a public or government advisory role; Charles Koch has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Koch

Ambani

Net worth, Forbes: $76.9BForbes, 14 Oct 2026; $84.2BForbes, 15 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $70.5BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026; $80.4BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 28Real-Time list, 14 Oct 2026; No. 21Annual list, 1 Mar 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Inherited and grew itHis father Fred Koch started the family business in 1940; Charles joined in 1961, became chairman and CEO in 1967 and grew it into a diversified group; in 1983 he and his brother David bought out two siblings; Inherited and grew itReliance was founded by his father in 1966; after his father's death in 2002 he and his brother Anil split the group, and he expanded Reliance into refining, telecom (Jio) and retail
Main source: Koch, Inc. (Koch Industries), a private conglomerateForbes: pipelines, chemicals, software, automotive components and Dixie cups, some $125 billion in revenue; Reliance Industries stake held by the promoter groupBloomberg: 'The majority of Mukesh Ambani's wealth derives from a 42% stake in publicly traded Reliance Industries', counting holding companies, trusts and family members
Companies: Koch, Inc.Koch, Inc.: Chairman and co-CEO; Reliance IndustriesReliance Industries: Chairman and managing director
Biggest stake: Koch, Inc.38% owned; Reliance Industries0.12% owned

Born: 1 Nov 1935Wichita, Kansas, United States; 19 Apr 1957Aden, Yemen
Country: United StatesLives in Wichita, Kansas, United States; IndiaLives in Mumbai, India
Education: Graduate degreeBS in general engineering (1957), MS in nuclear engineering (1958) and MS in chemical engineering (1959), MIT; Bachelor's degreeChemical engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai (University of Mumbai); started an MBA at Stanford University without finishing
Parents: Father Fred C. Koch was an MIT-trained engineer who developed an oil-refining process and ran refining, engineering and ranching businesses; mother Mary's occupation not statedHis biography calls his upbringing 'comfortable'; Father Dhirubhai Ambani was a yarn trader who founded Reliance in 1966Mother's occupation not stated

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Stand TogetherFounded in 2003 and the hub of his philanthropy; he also founded the Charles Koch Foundation; Reliance FoundationSet up in 2010 for Reliance Industries' philanthropy; chaired by his wife Nita Ambani
Lifetime giving: $1.8BForbes, 10 Oct 2023. Forbes' estimate of lifetime giving, excluding amounts not yet distributed; Not stated

Role now: Runs the companyChairman and co-CEO of Koch, Inc.; Runs the companyChairman and managing director of Reliance Industries
Successor: None namedDave Robertson became co-CEO alongside him in 2023; his son Chase Koch is executive vice president for origination and partnerships; None named. His three children joined the Reliance board in 2023: Akash heads Jio (chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm since 2022), Isha oversees retail and financial services, Anant works in the energy business
Public office: None found; Member, Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry (Government of India)Years not stated
Legal record: None found; 2021: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)SEBI fined him 150 million rupees over 2007 trades in Reliance Petroleum shares that it called fraudulent; the Securities Appellate Tribunal quashed the fine in 2023 and the Supreme Court dismissed SEBI's appeal in 2024.