The Koch family (/koʊk/ KOHK) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their and their control of Koch Industries, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $115 billion). The family business was started by Fred C. Koch, who developed a new cracking method for the refinement of heavy crude oil into gasoline. Fred's four sons litigated against each other over their interests in the business during the 1980s and 1990s.