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Charles Koch
CEO, Koch Industries
Billionaire industrialist funding dark money political network
Overview
Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries (the second-largest privately held company in America with $125 billion in annual revenue), has built the most influential political donor network in modern American history. The Koch network has spent an estimated $900 million per election cycle on political activities including lobbying, campaign contributions, think tanks, academic programs, and dark money organizations. The network has been instrumental in blocking climate legislation, weakening environmental regulations, opposing healthcare reform, and advancing anti-union policies. Koch Industries itself has paid over $600 million in environmental fines and settlements.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
Koch network spends $900M+ per election cycle on political activities and dark money
Koch Industries paid $600M+ in environmental fines and settlements
Funded climate change denial for decades despite clear scientific consensus
Americans for Prosperity organized opposition to Affordable Care Act and climate legislation
Koch Industries found guilty of stealing oil from Native American reservations in 1990s
Funded academic programs at 300+ universities with strings attached influencing curriculum
Network funded organizations opposing minimum wage increases and union rights
Related Investigations (9)
ALEC: The Corporate LegislatureEnvironmental
Tier 2
criticalBillionaire EnablersOligarchy
Tier 4
criticalClimate Denial NetworkEnvironmental
Tier 2
criticalCitizens United: The Dark Money CoupFinancial Crime
Tier 2
criticalDark Money in American PoliticsFinancial Crime
Tier 1
criticalThe Koch NetworkFinancial Crime
Tier 2
criticalDark Money & Political Funding NetworksPolitical Finance
Tier 4
criticalRepublican Dark Money NetworksPolitical Corruption
Tier 4
criticalUnion Busting in AmericaMilitary & Foreign Policy
Tier 2
criticalKnown Associates & Connections
David Koch
Brother and co-leader of Koch political network (deceased 2019)
Leonard Leo
Federalist Society leader; allied dark money networks
Art Pope
Koch network donor; NC political kingmaker
Sources & Documentation
1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Personal Information
- Born
- November 1, 1935
- Birthplace
- Wichita, Kansas
Education
- •MIT (B.S. General Engineering; M.S. Nuclear Engineering; M.S. Chemical Engineering)
Key Timeline
1967
Took over management of family business (later Koch Industries)
1977
Co-founded Cato Institute libertarian think tank
2003
Co-founded Americans for Prosperity as political advocacy arm
2010
Koch network spent $130M influencing midterm elections
2016
Koch network announced $889M budget for 2016 election cycle
2019
Brother David Koch died; Charles continued leading the network