Koch network

Charles G. and David H. Koch

Charles G. (born 1935) and David H. Koch (1940–2019), sometimes referred to as the Koch brothers,[1] have become famous for their financial and political influence in United States politics with a libertarian, more specifically, right-libertarian or American-style libertarian political stance. From around 2004 to 2019,[2] with "foresight and perseverance",[1] the brothers organized like-minded wealthy libertarian-oriented conservatives, spent hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money to build an "integrated" and  "stealth" network of think tanks, foundations, "grassroots" movements,[2] academic programs, advocacy and legal groups to "destroy the prevalent statist paradigm"[3] and reshape public opinion to favor minimal government.[1][4][5] As of mid 2018, the media has been encouraged to refer to the "Koch network" rather than the "Koch brothers".[6]

The Koch brothers are the sons of Fred C. Koch (1900–1967), who founded Koch Industries, now the second largest privately held company in the United States. As of 2012 they owned 84% of Koch Industries stock,[5] and as of December 2022, Charles Koch was estimated to have a net worth of $66 billion, making him the 14th-richest person in the world.[7] Fred C. had four sons, but the other two, Fredrick and William, are not involved in the family business; Charles and David bought them out in 1983,[8] and neither are involved with the family foundations, or Charles and David's political or philanthropic network.

The brothers' ideology is libertarian, more specifically the right-libertarian branch most commonly found in American-style libertarianism.[9] The late David Koch described himself as a social liberal,[10][11] and in the early years of their political activity ran for vice president as the Libertarian Party's candidate.[12] However, his "intense" focus was "on economic and fiscal issues" - i.e. being fiscally conservative or economically liberal[11] rather than other libertarian causes, and as of 2014 the millions of dollars both brothers donated to candidates went to Republicans, not Libertarians.[10]

They actively fund and support organizations that contribute significantly to Republican candidates, promote climate change denial,[13][14][15] and in particular that lobby against efforts to expand government's role in health care and climate change mitigation.[16] Unlike less patient, shrewd, or deep-pocketed activists, they spent time and money on less visible projects "like influencing policy at the state legislative level".[2] By 2010, they had donated more than $100 million to dozens of conservative advocacy organizations.[16] From 2009 to 2016, the network of conservative/right-wing donors they organized pledged to spend $889 million and its infrastructure was said by Politico to rival "that of the Republican National Committee".[17] Despite its secrecy, the vast reach, massive funding, and political success of the network has gradually raised the brothers' profile and made them a "bogeyman" among many liberals and Democrats.[18]

In May 2019, the Kochs announced a change in direction,[9] described as a "turn away from partisan politics to focus more on goals that cut across ideologies".[19] The Koch network would henceforth operate under the umbrella of Stand Together, a nonprofit focused on supporting community groups. The network emphasized this was “not a branding exercise” and stated that its priorities would be efforts aimed at such anodyne goals as increasing employment, addressing poverty and addiction, ensuring excellent education, building a stronger economy, and bridging divides and building respect.[19] Some critics maintain "Koch-affiliated groups" are still active "at the front lines of our current culture wars".[20]

  1. ^ a b c Mayer, Jane (2016). Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday. pp. 2–3.
  2. ^ a b c Cillizza, Chris (August 23, 2019). "The Point. How the Koch brothers fundamentally changed modern politics". CNN. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  3. ^ article by Charles Koch, "The Business Community, Resisting Regulation", in the Libertarian Review, August 1978, quoted in Mayer, Jane (2016). Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday. p. 54.
  4. ^ Dryzek, John S.; Norgaard, Richard B.; Schlosberg, David (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0199566600.
  5. ^ a b Fisher, Daniel (December 5, 2012). "Inside The Koch Empire: How The Brothers Plan To Reshape America". Forbes. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference severns-assailed-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  8. ^ The brothers settled in 2001, in Kroll, Luisa (June 1, 2012). "Billionaire Family Feuds: The High Stakes Of Dysfunction And Dissent". Forbes. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Belkin, Douglas (November 13, 2020). "Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 23, 2022. At 85, the libertarian tycoon who spent decades funding conservative causes says he wants a final act building bridges across political divides.
  10. ^ a b Black, Eric (May 19, 2014). "Move from Libertarian Party to GOP: Koch brothers change tactics, not beliefs". www.minnpost.com. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Fischer, Sara (December 14, 2014). "David Koch is pro-choice, supports gay rights; just not Democrats | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved March 23, 2022. I'm basically a libertarian. And I'm a conservative on economic matters and I'm a social liberal" [...] Koch, who supports gay rights and women's right to choose, said if candidates he gives to don't share those ideals, "That's their problem. I do have those views." [...] "I'm really focused intensely on economic and fiscal issues, because if those go bad the country as a whole suffers terribly.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt-quixotic-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Farrell, Justin (January 5, 2016). "Corporate funding and ideological polarization about climate change". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (1): 92–97. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113...92F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1509433112. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4711825. PMID 26598653.
  14. ^ Climate, Douglas Fischer, The Daily. ""Dark Money" Funds Climate Change Denial Effort". Scientific American.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Not just Koch brothers: New study reveals funders behind climate change denial effort". ScienceDaily.
  16. ^ a b Mayer, Jane (August 30, 2010). "Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama". The New Yorker.
  17. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P. (October 27, 2016). "Behind the retreat of the Koch brothers' operation". Politico. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  18. ^ Jason Linkins (May 30, 2014). "Better know a Koch Brother". HuffPost. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Hohmann, James (May 20, 2019). "The Koch network is reorganizing under a new name and with new priorities". Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  20. ^ WIRESTONE, CLAY (October 7, 2021). "OPINION Koch network lurks behind school mask battles, despite soothing new tone at the top". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved January 9, 2023.