Elaine Marshall
American heiress; with her sons, owner of an estimated 16% of Koch, Inc.
| Elaine Marshall
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 7 1942 (age 84 years old (as of 2026)
) (Forbes) |
| Residence | Dallas, Texas (Forbes) |
| Known for | Marshall family stake in Koch, Inc. |
| Spouse(s) | E. Pierce Marshall (died 2006) |
| Children | 2, Pierce Marshall Jr and Preston Marshall |
Elaine Marshall (born 1942) is an American heiress. Forbes estimates that she and her two sons own about 16% of Koch, Inc., formerly Koch Industries, a stake she inherited from her husband, E. Pierce Marshall.[1] Her family's affairs have come before the US Supreme Court three times: twice in the dispute over the estate of her father-in-law, J. Howard Marshall II, and once in litigation over the family's charitable trusts.[2][3][4] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Elaine Marshall & family 69th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$32.24 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Koch, Inc..[1][5] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Elaine Marshall 71st, at US$30.9 billion.[6]
Koch stake
Forbes says her husband's father, J. Howard Marshall II, who died in 1995, was an early partner of Fred Koch, the founder of Koch Industries. She inherited the family stake when E. Pierce Marshall died in 2006, and Forbes estimates that she and her sons own about 16% of the conglomerate, which has annual revenue of about US$125 billion. Forbes adds that Fred Koch's son Charles and Julia Koch, widow of David Koch, share an 84% voting stake.[1] In June 2024 the company announced that Koch, Inc. would become its top-level holding company. A new subsidiary, Koch Companies, LLC, would hold Koch Industries and its historic subsidiaries, with the changes expected to take effect in the third quarter of that year.[7]
Estate of J. Howard Marshall II
J. Howard Marshall II married Vickie Lynn Marshall, known as Anna Nicole Smith, on 27 June 1994. He died on 4 August 1995. His will left her nothing, and his son E. Pierce Marshall was the ultimate beneficiary of his estate plan. She argued that her husband had meant to provide for her through a trust and sued Pierce Marshall in Texas state court. In federal bankruptcy proceedings she then counterclaimed that he had interfered with that intended gift.[2][3] In Marshall v. Marshall (2006), the Supreme Court held that the Ninth Circuit had stretched the "probate exception" to federal jurisdiction too far, and sent the case back.[2]
By the time the case returned to the court, both parties had died, and it was contested by their estates. Elaine Marshall appears in the caption of Stern v. Marshall as executrix of Pierce Marshall's estate. On 23 June 2011 the court ruled that the bankruptcy court had lacked constitutional authority to enter final judgment on Vickie Marshall's counterclaim.[3]
Family foundations and trust litigation
A 2025 Fifth Circuit opinion sets out the background. Elaine Marshall, her sons Pierce and Preston, and Stephen Cook were trustees of the Marshall Heritage Foundation, through which the family had given large sums to charity for decades. In 2011 she created the Peroxisome Trust to give US$100 million to the foundation, with her two sons as co-trustees. In 2014 the foundation was split into the Marshall Legacy Foundation and The Marshall Heritage Foundation.[8]
Cook later sued Preston Marshall over his conduct as a Peroxisome co-trustee. The courts found that he had breached his fiduciary duties, and he was later held in contempt. A further suit sought damages for tax debts and penalties, and on 23 January 2025 the Fifth Circuit affirmed judgment against him.[8] Preston Marshall's petition to the Supreme Court was denied on 6 October 2025.[4]
Family
Forbes reports that her son Preston Marshall is a former director of the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank co-founded by Charles Koch. Her other son, E. Pierce Marshall Jr, runs Élevage Capital Management.[1]
Political activity
Federal Election Commission records list annual US$5,000 contributions to the Koch political action committee (KochPAC) from an Elaine Marshall of Wichita, Kansas, giving her employer as Koch Industries and her occupation as "KII Board of Directors". Records under the same name from Raleigh, North Carolina, give the contributor's occupation as North Carolina Secretary of State; they relate to a different person and are excluded.[9]
Across the 4 non-memo records retrieved for the 2022–2026 cycles, the filtered total is US$20,000 (a lower bound). The largest recipient committees, as named in the filings, were KOCH, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC) (US$15,000), KOCH INDUSTRIES, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC) (US$5,000).[9]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $5,000 | 1 | KOCH INDUSTRIES, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC) ($5,000) |
| 2024 | $10,000 | 2 | KOCH, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC) ($10,000) |
| 2026 | $5,000 | 1 | KOCH, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC) ($5,000) |
Wealth
Forbes classes her wealth as inherited, and gives its source as Koch, Inc.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 5 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2013. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[6][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 145 | 8.0 | 49 | 8.3 |
| 2014 | 147 | 8.8 | – | – |
| 2024 | 81 | 24.5 | 35 | 28.3 |
| 2025 | 67 | 28.3 | 32 | 30.9 |
| 2026 | 71 | 30.9 | 34 | 32.2 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Her son Preston Marshall is a former director of the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank co-founded by Charles Koch.[1]
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Elaine Marshall (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/elaine-marshall/) Forbes, live record, read 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Supreme Court of the United States, Marshall v. Marshall, 547 U.S. 293 (2006) – opinion of the Court Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 1 May 2006, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Supreme Court of the United States, Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011) – syllabus Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 23 June 2011, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Supreme Court of the United States, Docket No. 25-4: Marshall v. Cook Supreme Court of the United States, docket accessed 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Koch, Inc., Koch's continual transformation Koch, Inc. (media resources), 6 June 2024, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Cook v. Marshall, No. 24-30222 (opinion) US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 23 January 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "MARSHALL, ELAINE"; 2026 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried together with the same parameters; top 100 records by amount; compiler filtered records by employer/occupation and name and excluded memo entries U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.