Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty

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Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty Page 43

by Daniel Schulman


  Chapter 13. Out of the Shadows

  1. “dedicated egalitarian”: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics,” The Weekly Standard, April 4, 2011.

  2. “hard core economic socialist”: Ibid.

  3. “If we are going to do this”: “The Kochs’ Quest to Save America,” The Wichita Eagle, October 11, 2012.

  4. accused the library of whitewashing history: Interview with John Damgard.

  5. “If we do it right”: “The Kochs’ Quest to Save America,” The Wichita Eagle, October 11, 2012.

  6. invited Fink to Wichita: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics.”

  7. he came through with $150,000: “The Center for Market Processes,” University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, 1983.

  8. “I like polyester”: “The Kochs’ Quest to Save America.”

  9. “There are a lot of people who have ideas”: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics.”

  10. 14 of the 23 federal rules: “Rule Breaker: In Washington, Tiny Think Tank Wields Big Stick on Regulation,” Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2004.

  11. $10,000 bequest: Last Will and Testament of Mary Koch, 1989.

  12. “a third-rate political hack”: “Koch Versus Cato: Unraveling the Riddle,” CharlesRowley.com, March 5, 2012.

  13. “When we apply this model”: “From Ideas to Action: The Role of Universities, Think Tanks, and Activist Groups,” Philanthropy, Winter 1996.

  14. totaled nearly $31 million: “Koch Millions Spread Influence Through Nonprofits,” InvestigativeReportingWorkshop.org, July 1, 2013.

  15. veto power over job candidates: “Billionaire’s Role in Hiring Decisions at Florida State University Raises Questions,” Tampa Bay Times, May 9, 2011.

  16. “What we needed was a sales force”: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics.”

  17. friends on Capitol Hill grew: “Grass-Roots Goliath,” National Journal, July 13, 1996.

  18. Microsoft donated $380,000: “Think Tanks: Corporations’ Quiet Weapon,” The Washington Post, January 29, 2000.

  19. “THIS IS CLINTON CARE”: “When CSE Brings Its Big Guns to Bear,” National Journal, July 13, 1996.

  20. “Our belief is that the tax”: “Politics That Can’t Be Pigeonholed,” The Wichita Eagle, June 26, 1994.

  21. “into submission”: Interview with Dick Armey.

  22. registered the domain name taxpayerteaparty.com: “ ‘Tea Party’ Label Invites Discord,” USA Today, February 6, 2010.

  23. “reject excessive taxation by the Crown”: “Tea Party Talking Points,” Americans for Prosperity, April 2009.

  24. played a cameo role: “Consultants for Va. Candidate Linked to Indicted Lobbyist,” The Washington Post, November 3, 2005.

  25. “The modern-day Birchers”: “Where Have You Gone, Bill Buckley,” The New York Times, December 3, 2012.

  26. “I’ve never been to a Tea-Party event”: “The Billionaire’s Party,” New York, July 25, 2010.

  27. directed nearly $25 million: “Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine,” Greenpeace, March 2010.

  28. “audacious stealth campaign”: “The Election Campaigns We Can’t See,” The Washington Post, September 23, 2010.

  29. “it’s the worst covert operation in history”: “ ‘Tea Party Billionaire’ Fires Back,” TheDailyBeast.com, September 10, 2010.

  30. “apparently concerted campaign”: “Smear Disappears,” New York Post, January 5, 2011.

  31. “a disturbing trend in journalism”: Mark Holden to Sid Holt, April 25, 2011.

  32. “If not us, who?”: Letter to members of the Koch donor network, September 24, 2010.

  33. pledged at least $12 million: “Koch Conference Under Scrutiny,” Politico, January 27, 2011.

  34. “an unconstitutional power grab”: “How Congress Can Stop the EPA’s Power Grab,” Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2010.

  35. “You bet I am”: “Exclusive: Polluter Billionaire David Koch Says Tea Party ‘Rank And File Are Just Normal People Like Us,’ ” ThinkProgress.com, January 6, 2011.

  Chapter 14. The Mother of All Wars

  1. ejected the journalist: “The Kochs Fight Back,” Politico, February 2, 2011.

  2. “He’s an evil man”: “Koch Ventures into the Brooklyn Lion’s Den,” FT.com, December 24, 2010.

  3. “we would be attacked”: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics,” The Weekly Standard, April 4, 2011.

  4. “We’ve been called just about everything”: “Birch Society Leader Warns of Red Danger,” The Wichita Eagle, October 10, 1960.

  5. “It generated a lot of enthusiasm”: “Inside Today’s Koch Brothers ‘Billionaire’s Caucus,’ ” Forbes.com, January 31, 2011.

  6. encouraged Walker to battle the unions: “Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute,” The New York Times, February 21, 2011.

  7. David’s secretary delivered the news: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics.”

  8. “Are you reassured?”: “Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.,” The New York Times, February 24, 2011.

  9. left an angry voice mail: Interview with Mark Holden.

  10. “The Koch brothers will DIE!!!!!”: “Charles Koch, Employees Reveal E-mailed Threats from Past Year,” The Wichita Eagle, February 17, 2012.

  11. round-the-clock protection: Interview with John Damgard.

  12. “We are not going to stop”: “Koch Executives Speak Out on Wisconsin,” National Review, February 24, 2011.

  13. “This is the mother of all wars”: “Inside the Koch Brothers’ Secret Seminar,” MotherJones.com, September 6, 2011.

  14. $70 million’ worth of pledges: “Karl Rove vs. the Koch Brothers,” Politico, October 10, 2011.

  15. angered Mitt Romney’s campaign: Jonathan Alter, The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies (Simon & Schuster, 2013), p. 223.

  16. “building a coalition of like-minded organizations”: Center to Protect Patient Rights, Form 1024, October 8, 2009.

  17. “This government policy and strategy”: Association for American Innovation, Form 1024, November 4, 2011.

  18. “Who the hell”: “Who the Hell Is Going to Take a Think Tank Seriously If It’s Controlled by Billionaire Oil Guys?” Slate.com, March 22, 2012.

  19. “genetic libertarian”: “Free Radical; Libertarian—and Contrarian—Ed Crane Has Run the Cato Institute for 25 Years. His Way,” The Washington Post, May 9, 2002.

  20. “I’ll go to my grave”: Brian Doherty, Radicals for Capitalism (Public Affairs, 2007), pp. 603–4.

  21. “ ‘What the hell is this about?’ ”: “The Battle for the Cato Institute,” Washingtonian, May 30, 2012.

  22. the bedraggled building: David Boaz, The Politics of Freedom (Cato Institute, 2008), p. 244.

  23. Crane recalled telling him. “I can’t do that.”: “The Battle for the Cato Institute.”

  24. Crane’s star had sunk: “The Ear,” The Rothbard-Rockwell Report, August 1991.

  25. no longer taking Crane’s calls: “The Battle for the Cato Institute.”

  26. “He’s the emperor”: “Covert Operations,” The New Yorker, August 30, 2010.

  27. “Charles is really upset”: “The Battle for the Cato Institute.”

  28. “Kevin Gentry seated over there”: “The Crane Chronicles Part 2: The Care and Feeding of Board Members,” Breitbart.com, April 4, 2012.

  29. “esoteric concepts”: Statement by David H. Koch, March 22, 2012.

  30. “providing intellectual ammunition”: “Cato Goes to War,” Slate.com, March 5, 2012.

  31. “They thought wrong”: Statement by Charles G. Koch, March 8, 2012.

  32. “some sort of auxiliary for the GOP”: “Cato Institute Is Caught in a Rift Over Its Direction,” The New York Times, March 6, 2012.

  33. “rule or ruin” strategy: Statement by David H. Koch, March 22, 2012.

  34. “undermine our community’s intellectual defenses”: FreedomWorks Statement Regarding Koch-Cato Lawsuit, April
12, 2012.

  35. “contract killers in super-PAC land”: “Obama Campaign to Go After ‘Contract-Killer’ Super Pac Ads,” Roll Call, May 7, 2012.

  36. “carefully orchestrated campaign of vituperation”: “Obama’s Enemies List,” Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2012.

  37. “if somebody’s out to cheat me”: “The Jefferson Bottles,” The New Yorker, September 3, 2007.

  38. cell phone ring tone: Ibid.

  39. perhaps a dental drill: Benjamin Wallace, The Billionaire’s Vinegar (Crown, 2008), p. 250.

  40. “This is National Treasure”: Ibid., p. 254.

  41. “I absolutely can’t stand to be cheated”: “Billionaire William Koch Wins Trial over Fake French Wine,” Bloomberg.com, April 12, 2013.

  42. over a glass of fine wine: “Billionaire Wins Wine Fight; Jury Awards Him $380,000,” Associated Press, April 11, 2013.

  43. a forensic review of his employees’ communications: Oxbow Carbon v. Kirby Martensen (15th Fla., 2012), complaint.

  44. “I’m doing it because I can”: “Bill Koch’s Wild West Adventure,” 5280, February 2013.

  45. The phone and Internet service: Colorado Bureau of Investigation, “Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office Official Misconduct Report,” November 5, 2012.

  46. “Would you feel the same way about Kirby”: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch (N.D. Cal., 2012), deposition of Lawrence Black, June 25, 2013.

  47. A hidden camera rolled: Colorado Bureau of Investigation, “Investigative Supplement Report,” June 28, 2013.

  48. at least eight security guards: Ibid.

  49. current and former police officers: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch, Opposition to William Koch’s Motion for Partial Reconsideration.

  50. “A sheriff is here”: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch, complaint.

  51. placed the deputy on administrative leave: Colorado Bureau of Investigation, “Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office Official Misconduct Report,” November 5, 2012.

  52. off-duty Palm Beach police officers: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch, Opposition to William Koch’s Motion for Partial Reconsideration.

  53. “For all intents and purposes”: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch, deposition of Kirby Martensen, May 16, 2013.

  54. “I gave this money to Kirby Martensen”: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch, deposition of Charlie Zhan, January 9, 2013.

  55. “this is the type of thing that Bill does”: Kirby Martensen v. William Koch (N.D. Cal., 2012), deposition of Lawrence Black, June 25, 2013.

  56. “The idea as explained to me”: Martensen whistleblower complaint, May 13, 2013.

  57. “the lion king of button-down libertarianism”: “Free Radical; Libertarian—and Contrarian—Ed Crane.”

  58. convened a Hamptons mixer: “Romney in the Hamptons with David Koch,” Politico, August 16, 2010.

  59. “the financial engine of the Tea Party”: “Internal Memo: Romney Courting Kochs, Tea Party,” Washington Examiner, November 2, 2011.

  60. “the title of that book comes from a poem”: “Mitt Romney Reveals a Literary Connection with a Koch Brother,” The Washington Post, August 22, 2012.

  61. “like two world leaders with their first ladies”: “Mitt: What Koch Problem?” New York Post, July 10, 2012.

  62. “I look at it as an asset”: Ibid.

  63. “I believe in gay marriage”: “David Koch Breaks from the GOP on Gay Marriage, Taxes, Defense Cuts,” Politico, August 30, 2012.

  64. “We’ve got to do better with primaries”: Interview with John Damgard.

  65. “difficult to assess the kind of bang for buck”: “Americans for Prosperity Chief: We Don’t Know if $27 Million in Anti-Obama Ads Has Any Effect,” MotherJones.com, September 3, 2012.

  66. “We had met with some other people from Koch”: Deposition of Anthony Russo, July 17, 2013.

  67. “We were not involved”: “The Koch Brothers in California,” NewYorker.com, October 25, 2013.

  68. “Despite November’s disappointing election results”: “Kochs Postpone Post-Election Meeting,” National Review, December 11, 2012.

  69. “reaching the right people with the right message”: “Exclusive: Read the Koch Brothers’ Plans for Their Upcoming Donor Retreat,” MotherJones.com, April 23, 2013.

  Chapter 15. Legacy

  1. “Oh, hi, Freddie”: Interview with John Damgard.

  2. “Never ask from where I came”: “Call Me Frederick,” The Daily Telegraph, November 14, 1986.

  3. Donahue was a man of vices: Christopher Wilson, Dancing with the Devil: The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue (St. Martin’s Press, 2000), pp. 32–35.

  4. “I’ve done it”: “James Donahue, Social Leader, Kills Himself,” Associated Press, April 23, 1931.

  5. “hoped to be a playwright”: Frederick R. Koch to John Mason Brown, July 19, 1961, John Mason Brown Papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University.

  6. “crude bluff and blackmail”: “Wrangle over Dreams for Mansion,” The Times of London, May 7, 1986.

  7. “The lodge is deteriorating”: “Pass My Plans or Treasures Leave Britain, Says Billionaire,” Daily Mail, May 6, 1986.

  8. baffled the British art world: “Philanthropist Stays Silent on Art Museum,” The Times of London, May 11, 1993.

  9. “dig two graves”: “Captain America,” Sports Illustrated, April 20, 1992.

  10. “chance of several lifetimes”: “Osterville House Sells for $19 Million,” Cape Cod Times, January 11, 2013.

  11. “for staying together”: “Bill Koch’s Wild West Adventure,” 5280, February 2013.

  12. “I don’t want to do that to my kids”: George T. M. Shackelford and Elliot Bostwick Davis, Things I Love: The Many Collections of William I. Koch (MFA Publications, 2005), p. 37.

  13. “My proudest accomplishment”: “Inside the Koch Empire: How the Brothers Plan to Reshape America,” Forbes, December 24, 2012.

  14. “I’m going to ride my bicycle until I fall off”: “The Private Empire of Koch Industries,” Financial Times, January 30, 2004.

  15. “We have the best leaders”: “Inside the Koch Empire,” Forbes.

  16. Chase joined Koch Industries’ board of directors: Interview with Nestor Weigand.

  17. “I was a bohemian”: “Adventures in Publishing,” Town & Country, May 2012.

  18. “disturbed and convoluted relationship with money”: “The World Compatibility Test: Back in Tokyo, Part 1,” Smithmag.net, March 30, 2007.

  19. “thought it was the right thing to do”: “Ground Is Officially Broken on Met’s ‘David H. Koch Plaza,’ ” The New York Times, January 14, 2013.

  20. “Boycott the Metropolitan Museum of Art”: “The Two Kochs,” Artnet.com, February 8, 2012.

  21. “Well, it’s $65 million!”: “$65-Million Naming Opportunity: Groundbreaking for Metropolitan Museum’s ‘David H. Koch Plaza,’ ” ArtsJournal.com, January 16, 2013.

  22. “apparently so offended”: “A Word from Our Sponsors,” The New Yorker, May 27, 2013.

  23. the portrait of their father: Shackelford and Bostwick Davis, Things I Love: The Many Collections of William I. Koch, p. 37.

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  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  Prologue

  1. Sons of Wichita

  2. Stalin’s Oil Man

  3. “The Dead Will Be the Lucky Ones”

  4. May Day at MIT

  5. Successor

  6. Rise of the Kochtopus

  7. The Divorce

  8. Mighty Mary

  9. “My God, I’m Going to Die!”

  10. The Art of War


  11. There Will Be Blood

  12. Planet Koch

  13. Out of the Shadows

  14. The Mother of All Wars

  15. Legacy

  Photos

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Notes

  Newsletters

  Copyright

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Schulman

  Cover copyright © 2014 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Jacket design by Jeff Miller/Faceout Studio

  Jacket photograph of David Koch by © JUSTIN LANE/epa/Corbis

  Jacket photograph of Charles Koch by Larry W. Smith/Polaris

  Jacket photograph of Fred Koch by Patrick McMullan/Sipa USA

  Jacket photograph of Bill Koch by Gregory P. Mango/Splash News/Newscom

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  ISBN 978-1-4555-1874-6

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