[citation needed]After returning to General Electric in 1945, Wilson began an anti-union campaign.

In December 1950, Wilson left GE again to serve Truman as director of the new Office of Defense Mobilization,[4] which imposed controls on the US economy during the Korean War, such as rationing raw materials for civilian production.

Wilson returned to General Electric briefly, before becoming chairman of the board of W.R. Grace & Co. until his retirement in 1956.

John G. Forrest wrote in The New York Times, "Charles Wilson is a big man by any standard, physical, moral, or mental."

Charles Wilson died in Westchester County, New York, in 1972, and his remains are interred in a private mausoleum in the Kensico Cemetery.