Herbert Kohler, Jr.

Herbert Vollrath Kohler Jr. (February 20, 1939 – September 3, 2022) was an American billionaire businessman, a member of the Kohler family of Wisconsin, and the executive chairman of the Kohler Company, a manufacturing and hospitality company in Kohler, Wisconsin, best known for its plumbing products, golf courses, and resorts, with the latter two fields of business directly entered into under his chairmanship. Before his death, Forbes estimated the net worth of him and his family at US$8.8 billion.

Early life and education Kohler was born February 20, 1939, to Ruth DeYoung Kohler and Herbert Vollrath Kohler Sr., who ran the Kohler Company from 1937 until his death. He is related to other former company presidents, including Walter J. Kohler Sr. and Walter J. Kohler Jr. He graduated from The Choate School in 1957 and chaired the school's board of trustees from 2005 to 2010.

Business career

As a teenager, Kohler worked as a laborer or technician for every division of Kohler Co., which specialised in manufacturing plumbing products. He was awarded a bachelor's degree in industrial administration in 1965 by Yale University. After graduation, he joined the Kohler Company full-time and, in 1972, was appointed chief executive officer.

The National Kitchen and Bath Hall of Fame inducted Kohler in its founding year of 1989, followed by the National Housing Hall of Fame in 1993. Junior Achievement inducted him into its U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006. Kohler has also received the "Legend in Leadership Award" from the Chief Executive Leadership Institute of the Yale School of Management. As of 2021, Kohler's net worth was $9.8 billion.

In April 2015, the company announced Kohler was stepping down as CEO and relinquishing the title to his son, David Kohler, while remaining executive chairman.

Golf Kohler was a golf fan, and the Kohler Company owns and operates four courses designed by Pete Dye. The first course was constructed at Blackwolf Run, Wisconsin, in 1988. A second 18-hole course was added to the site in 1990 and hosted the 1998 U.S. Women's Open. In 1998, Kohler added 36 holes at Whistling Straits, also in Wisconsin, which has hosted the PGA Championship in 2004, 2010 and 2015, the U.S. Senior Open in 2007, and the Ryder Cup in 2021.

In 2009, Kohler purchased "one of the sport's most famous buildings", Hamilton Hall, now known as the Hamilton Grand, a collection of 26 luxury apartments. Kohler also owned the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, Scotland.

Personal life In 1961, Kohler married Linda Karger, but the couple divorced in the early 1980s. They had three children together. In 1985, Linda married Roger Anderson, retired chairman and CEO of Continental Illinois.

His second wife was Natalie Black, a Stanford University graduate who joined Kohler in 1985 as a lawyer, rising to general counsel and senior vice president of communications. She is now head of the Kohler Foundation.

He died on September 3, 2022, in Kohler, Wisconsin, at the age of 83.