KOHLER is the biggest American name in the plumbing industry, best known for its toilets and faucets.
The Kohler family has accumulated a massive net worth thanks to the company's success, but its humble roots can be traced back to 1873.
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Kohler is one of the largest private companies in the U.S., with around 40,000 employees, according to Forbes.
HISTORY OF THE KOHLER EMPIRE
The business began in 1873, according to the history page of the Kohler website.
That year, Austrian immigrant John Michael Kohler purchased a steel foundry from his father-in-law, with the help of business partner Charles Silberzahn.
The factory cost them $5,000, and they initially began producing cast iron and steel instruments for farming.
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Kohler entered the plumbing business in 1883 when John Michael applied enamel to a horse trough and made the first bathtub.
Over the coming decades, Kohler continued to manufacture plumbing products, and in 1984, acquired Sterling Faucet Company, integrating Sterling products into its own brand.
Making bathroom appliances, tiles, engines, and generators, Kohler now exceeds $7billion in annual revenue, according to Zippia, a company that provides online recruitment services.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Kohler has remained under family control and located in Wisconsin for 150 years.
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Herbert Kohler Jr., the grandson of founder John Michael, served as CEO from 1972 and chairman until his death in 2022, according to a 2015 article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
He stepped down as CEO in 2015 and was replaced by his son David - the fourth Kohler to run the company.
Kohler is a privately owned enterprise, and Herbert Jr. and his sister Ruth bought out 300 non-family shareholders in 1998, Forbes reported.
The family owns an estimated 89 percent of the company, which is worth $11.7billion as of 2020, according to Forbes.
STROKE OF LUCK
Herbert Jr. was a huge golf fan, and the company owns and operates four renowned courses.
The Whistling Straits course in Wisconsin even hosted the Ryder Cup in 2021.
Current CEO David Kohler also sits on the board of directors for various companies and organizations, including the Green Bay Packers.
He has four children and three grandchildren to continue the succession of the Kohler empire.
The Kohler Company isn’t the only business that has built generations of family wealth.
Check out the employee-owned supermarket that is keeping things in the family with more than $8.8billion combined net worth.
And see why the founder of the biggest computer software supplier is leaving a "minuscule portion" of his wealth to his children.
