Billionaire David Koch has died at age 79

(AP) – Billionaire David Koch (kohk) has died at age 79. Koch was a major donor to conservative causes and educational groups.

A person close to the Koch family told The Associated Press on Friday that Koch had died. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the death and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Together with his older brother, Charles, the Kochs were best known for a vast political network they built that became popularly known as the “Kochtopus” for its far-reaching tentacles in support of conservative causes.