Charles G. Koch

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Charles Koch

Charles de Ganahl Koch [ kɔʊk ] (born November 1, 1935 in Wichita , Kansas ) heads the oil and chemical consortium Koch Industries , the second largest privately owned corporate conglomerate in the USA . According to Forbes, his estimated net worth in October 2018 - like that of his brother David H. Koch , each holding 42% of the shares in Koch Industries - was 43.8 billion US dollars. This makes him number 7 on Forbes' list of the richest people in the United States and number 8 of the richest people in the world. The brothers are among the most important supporters of the tea party movement .

Education, training and family

Charles Koch's parents were Fred C. Koch († 1967) and Mary Robinson Koch († 1990), who together had four sons Frederick ("Freddie", * 1933, † 2020), Charles, David (* 1940, † 2019) and William ("Bill", * 1940) had. Charles was named after a former business partner of the father, Charles de Ganahl. The father was very strict and often beat the children up. In Charles' first years of life (until 1940) they also had a strict German teacher who scared them with German children's books like Struwwelpeter and presented Adolf Hitler as a role model. Charles later said his father taught him a work ethic when he was eight . While other children enjoyed their free time at the neighboring country club, he had to work in the garden and on the ranch. This treatment benefited him in later life.

The father traveled a lot and the mother was very active in social and cultural matters, so that the children were mostly looked after by educators and housekeepers. There were often arguments among the brothers, from which Charles usually emerged victorious. When he was 11 years old, the children were separated on the advice of a psychologist. A boarding school known for its rigor was chosen for Charles. Because of poor performance and other problems, he had to change schools several times until he finally went to a military academy , where he graduated.

He then studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering and then a master's degree in nuclear and chemical engineering . After completing his studies, he worked as a management consultant in Boston until his father persuaded him to join the company in 1961 because his health was bad himself. Charles was reluctant to respond, fearing that the father would otherwise sell the company.

In the mid-1960s, Charles, supported by David and Bill, tried to blackmail his eldest brother, Freddie. He gained access to his home to look for evidence to support his suspicion that the single brother was gay . He then invited the brothers to a meeting supposedly about business. At this point in time, the brothers already owned the smaller company Koch Engineering , which their father had bequeathed to them during their lifetime. Charles confronted Freddie with the accusation and made it clear that it was not acceptable to a co-owner of the company. Freddie should sell his stake to his brothers or Charles would inform the father of the alleged facts. This did not happen, however, and Fred Koch senior died in 1967.

Charles Koch is married to Liz Koch, with whom he has two children.

Companies

In 1967 , the four brothers inherited their late father's company. Charles took the lead and gained the reputation of an excellent manager who worked 60 hours a week and took care of the little things.

In 1980 Frederick and Bill tried to take over the company because Charles had developed an autocratic leadership style. Charles won the power struggle by pulling shareholders David Koch and J. Howard Marshall to his side. Bill was fired from the company. The brothers then quarreled in court. In 1983, Charles and David bought Frederick and Bill's shares in the company for $ 1 billion and continued to run the company without them.

The blending company, of which Charles was president for the following decades, operates in the pipelines , refineries , fibers , fertilizers , forest products , consumer goods and chemicals sectors, among others .

Koch rejects third-party shareholders who have a say and insights into business activities; Koch Industries is one of the largest non- listed companies.

In 2008 sales exceeded $ 100 billion. In 2012, the company was estimated to get $ 20 billion richer.

politics

Charles Koch's father was a vehement opponent of taxes, which he viewed as the beginnings of socialism , and tried to avoid them in a variety of ways. This included creating a charity fund through which he could transfer part of his assets to his sons while avoiding inheritance tax . This was conditional on all profits being donated to charity for 20 years.

The Freedom School , to which he was invited in 1964, had a major influence on Charles Koch's political views . This institution offered courses in a "Philosophy of Freedom and Free Entrepreneurship". Its leader Robert LeFevre was a staunch opponent of the US government, who viewed taxes as a kind of theft and demonized the social laws of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt ( New Deal ) and Lyndon B. Johnson as ruinous steps towards socialism. The weak and poor should be taken care of by private charity, not the government, and slavery should be allowed as it is less bad than military service. Koch became an active member of the Freedom School and a major financier.

In the Freedom School , Koch learned the teaching of the economist Friedrich von Hayek , whose book The Road to Servitude was very popular in the USA in an abridged translation of Reader's Digest . Hayek turned against after the Great Depression predominantly become Keynesianism , arguing that centralized intervention by governments in the economic life inevitably dictatorships lead. In his account, the free entrepreneur was the epitome of the free man, while he identified governments with coercion. His concessions on minimum income for the poor, environmental protection and measures against monopolies had been omitted from the American edition. This is how Koch found a theoretical foundation for his radical views.

In 1976, Koch helped found the Center for Libertarian Studies in New York, which held a conference with leading representatives of libertarianism . In his contribution, he advocated working largely in secret and maintaining a positive image to the outside world without revealing the real goals. In order to raise funds on a large scale, he suggested inviting potential wealthy donors to exclusive events that should only be open by invitation. In order to spread your own views, you should primarily address young people, because only they are open to radically new ideas.

For the presidential election in 1980 he persuaded his brother David to apply for the vice presidency for the Libertarian Party , whose program largely corresponded to his own political goals , because it freed him from the strict restrictions on campaign financing and could bring in any amount of money as a candidate could. But despite over $ 2 million, which made up almost 60% of the campaign budget, only one percent of the vote was won. The brothers drew the consequence from this not to rely on elections, but to withdraw from the public and to establish and disseminate their views with great financial commitment at universities and in think tanks (see below).

The non-profit Citizens for a Sound Economy, founded by Charles Koch in 1984, actively intervened in politics in 1993 when Bill Clinton wanted to impose a tax on fossil fuels and raise taxes on high incomes (see Americans for Prosperity # background ). During the term of office of George W. Bush , the organizations funded by Koch ("Kochtopus") held back. After Barack Obama's assumption of office , they were reactivated and produced some dubious studies and statements against Obama's plan to stimulate the economy , which had fallen as a result of the global financial crisis, through government intervention. Koch himself wrote a letter to the approximately 70,000 employees of his company, in which he claimed that the Great Depression of the 1930s was not triggered by the stock market and by business people, but by the "dangerous" Liberal Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt .

In order to raise additional funds for their political goals, the Kochs have been holding meetings with potent donors twice a year since 2003. Following the decision of the Supreme Court in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 2010, which lifted previous restrictions on politically motivated donations, exploded the total donation at these meetings to nearly $ 900 million each. After a rather humble start with fewer than 20 participants from Charles Koch's personal circle, this secret and personal invitation-only event in 2010 attracted around 200 people, of whom the richest Americans listed on Forbes alone had a fortune of $ 129 billion. However, this was also the last secret meeting of the donors. At the next event in January 2011, the hovering airship by Greenpeace over the venue in Palm Springs , and then the faces were displayed by Charles and David Koch labeled "Koch Brothers: Dirty Money". The access road was lined with demonstrators waving messages like “Koch Kills!” Or “Uncloak the Kochs!”.

Charles and David Koch are among the main financiers of the libertarian-conservative tea party movement . They campaign with great, especially financial commitment, for drastically lower taxes, minimal state aid for the needy and much less market regulation of the industry, especially with regard to environmental protection regulations.

According to Charles Koch, "the free society is in danger, partly because of climate change - alarmism ". He suggests that every law should be checked for an unspecified "promotion of prosperity growth " that would fail 90 percent of all laws. Many critics accuse him of having too much power. In his view, he is fighting the power of central government , which would ruin entire industries through taxation, force citizens to buy health insurance, and bring large corporations like Koch Industries to their knees.

Foundations and think tanks

Flow of money between some non-profit organizations that have something to do with the Koch brothers in 2012

In 1977 Koch and Ed Crane founded the Cato Institute , one of the most influential economic and political think tanks in the USA. Together, the Koch brothers have financially supported more than 30 conservative think tanks and foundations, including the Heritage Foundation , the Mercatus Center , the Manhattan Institute , the George C. Marshall Institute , the Reason Foundation , the American Enterprise Institute, and the Lobby organization Americans for Prosperity . The Federalist Society was also supported . In 2013, historian Nancy MacLean discovered correspondence with Koch, who had sponsored Buchanan's work, in the archives of political economist James M. Buchanan on the campus of George Mason University . She analyzed this correspondence in her book Democracy in Chains , published in 2017 . On the basis of this, she accused Charles G. Koch and Buchanan of developing a covert plan to reorganize the political structure of the USA in favor of the small minority of the super-rich and to the detriment of the majority of the population, and of initiating its implementation. This conclusion was discussed controversially (and in different political directions either in favor or against).

It is not known how much money the Kochs spend in total for political purposes. From the portion of tax records that are publicly available, it appears that from 1998 to 2008, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation spent more than $ 48 million, the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation (owned by Koch and his wife and 3 employees are controlled) $ 28 million, and his brother's David H. Koch Charitable Foundation more than $ 120 million. According to the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy , the various Koch Foundations are self-serving as they fund research and advocacy on issues that affect Koch Industries' profit margins. Koch Industries has spent more than US $ 50 million on direct lobbying, and the Koch PAC has supported various election campaigns with US $ 8 million. In addition, the brothers Charles and David Koch support the tea party movement financially and organizationally. According to Charles Lewis , the founder of the Center for Public Integrity against abuse of power and corruption, the Koch brothers have a very large influence on politics. They would spend far more money on it than anyone else and would have a consistent pattern of breaking the law, political manipulation and covering up. David Koch protested the reports in the press, claiming that the Koch brothers' influence on politics was overestimated.

The foundation network and Charles Koch himself advocate continuing the protection of the Dreamer , i.e. those illegally brought to the USA by their parents as children, from deportation. For some dreamers, the current protection expired in March 2018. The support comes from, among other things, the foundation network's help in the negotiations between congressmen and the White House, as well as an advertising campaign launched at the end of February 2018, also with the aim of convincing Congress of their views and moving them to action.

Cooking topus

The Kochs have created an influential ideological network that includes organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, the Mercatus Center, Americans for Prosperity, and FreedomWorks . In the 1980s there was a dispute within the libertarian movement. A group around Murray Rothbard fought against the growing influence of the Kochs-funded libertarian organizations, which Samuel Edward Konkin III called Kochtopus (English for "Koch Octopus"). The network is said to have received at least 48 million US dollars from the Kochs in the years 1997 to 2011 alone. Since the extensive campaigns against initiatives by President Obama, u. a. against the health reform and the economic stimulus programs due to the financial crisis from 2007 and the global economic crisis from 2007 , the critical term for the ideological network u. a. also established with liberals.

Role in organized climate denial

The Koch family foundations founded by Koch have been identified in the scientific literature as a particularly influential actor and sponsor of the organized climate change denial scene. According to research by journalist Jane Mayer , the Kochs raised larger sums than ExxonMobil between 2005 and 2008 for lobbying initiatives to combat the introduction of climate protection measures . Via Americans for Prosperity, they brought u. a. Hundreds of Republican politicians, including most of the top House of Representatives , signed a pledge not to introduce a "climate tax". In total, Charles and David Koch have given climate deniers together more than $ 100 million since 1997 (as of 2018).

The strategy of the Koch brothers follows the advice of pollster Frank Luntz that a successful campaign must start with the citizens to convince them that there is no scientific consensus on global warming . Koch's organizations create a platform for climate skeptics through their public relations work , in particular through the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. In 2009, the Cato Institute placed full-page advertisements in several major American daily newspapers. a. it was spread that in the past ten years no global warming has been measurable. This statement was in complete contradiction to the prevailing scientific consensus in this regard. The campaign also included bribing politicians , according to Bill Press . Opinion polls found that the number of American citizens who believe global warming is scientifically proven had decreased from 71% in 2008 to 57% in 2009. While there was still agreement between Democrats and Republicans in the 2008 presidential campaign that something must be done about global warming, since 2009 the Republicans have not held this view. Charles Koch believes that global warming is good for humankind because it makes the northern hemisphere warmer for longer.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Forbes: # 7 Charles Koch , accessed Dec. 10, 2018.
  2. ↑ Katharine Q. Seelye: Frederick Koch, Who Spurned Family Business, Dies at 86 . In: The New York Times . February 13, 2020, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed May 27, 2020]).
  3. ^ Robert D. McFadden: David Koch, Billionaire Who Fueled Right-Wing Movement, Dies at 79 . In: The New York Times . August 23, 2019, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed May 27, 2020]).
  4. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016, ISBN 978-0-385-53559-5 . Pp. 28 and 32-34.
  5. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 32 and 34-36.
  6. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. p. 41.
  7. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 47f.
  8. ↑ Daniel Schulman: The “Other” Koch Brother . In: Vanity Fair . May 19, 2014 (excerpt from the book Sons of Wichita )
  9. ↑ Biography: Charles Koch , New Netherland Institute , accessed July 22, 2013
  10. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 51f.
  11. ↑ a b c d e f Jane Mayer: Covert Operations: The Billionaires Koch Brother's War Against Obama , The New Yorker Online of August 30, 2010
  12. ↑ Heike Buchter : Election in the USA: Big Brothers , Die Zeit Online from October 28, 2010
  13. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. p. 42.
  14. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 43-45.
  15. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 45f.
  16. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 54-56.
  17. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 57f.
  18. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 170f.
  19. ^ A b Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 162 f.
  20. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 238 f.
  21. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. p. 256.
  22. ↑ Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Doubleday, New York 2016. pp. 278 f.
  23. ^ Libertarians as major tea party sponsors , TELEPOLIS, September 1, 2010.
  24. ↑ Jane Mayer: Covert Operations , The New Yorker Online, August 30, 2010
  25. ↑ Stephen Moore: Private Enterprise . In: Wall Street Journal . ISSN  0099-9660 ( wsj.com [accessed November 27, 2015]).
  26. ^ A b Daniel Fisher : Inside The Koch Empire: How The Brothers Plan To Reshape America , Forbes Magazine Online December 5, 2012
  27. ↑ James A. Dorn : Saving the Cato Institute Culture of Liberty , Forbes Magazine Online April 9, 2012
  28. ↑ George Monbiot : The Tea Party movement: deluded and inspired by billionaires , The Guardian Online, October 25, 2010
  29. ↑ George Monbiot: A despot in disguise: one man's mission to rip up democracy - George Monbiot. In: theguardian.com. July 19, 2017, accessed July 20, 2017 .
  30. ↑ Historian alleges coordinated criticism of her latest book, which is critical of radical right. In: Inside Higher Ed. July 12, 2017, accessed July 24, 2017 .
  31. ^ A New History of the Right Has Become an Intellectual Flashpoint , The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 19, 2017
  32. ↑ Nancy MacLean Responds to Her Critics , The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 19, 2017
  33. ^ A b Libertarians as tea party major sponsors , TELEPOLIS from September 1, 2010
  34. ^ Moritz Koch : The great inheritance: Money - Power - Hate - Two Brothers on a Crusade , Süddeutsche Zeitung Online from September 25, 2010
  35. ↑ Michelle Ye Hee Lee: Koch-backed group launches ad to pressure Congress to protect 'dreamers' . In: Washington Post . February 26, 2018, ISSN  0190-8286 ( washingtonpost.com [accessed February 28, 2018]).
  36. ^ Max Greenwood: Tim Cook, Charles Koch write joint op-ed urging action on dreamers . In: TheHill . December 14, 2017 ( thehill.com [accessed February 28, 2018]).
  37. ^ Fearing Democratic wave, Koch network to spend big on US midterm ... In: Reuters . January 29, 2018 ( reuters.com [accessed February 28, 2018]).
  38. ^ Bill Press : The Obama Hate Machine , ISBN 978-0-312-64164-1 , p. 12
  39. ^ William Marsden, Fools Rule: Inside the Failed Politics of Climate Change , 2011, ISBN 978-0-307-39824-6 , p. 214
  40. ↑ James Gustave Speth, America the Possible , ISBN 978-0-300-18076-3 , page 179
  41. ^ Julian Go, Rethinking Obama , ISBN 978-0-85724-911-1 , page 108
  42. ^ Thomas Frank, What´s the matter with America? , ISBN 978-0-436-20539-2 , page 82
  43. ^ LewRockwell.com, David Gordon, The Kochtopus vs. Murray Rothbard ( Memento from December 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  44. ^ A b William Marsden: Fools Rule: Inside the Failed Politics of Climate Change , 2011, ISBN 978-0-307-39824-6 , p. 214
  45. ↑ Ronald P. Formisano, The Tea-Party: A Brief History , section Libertarian Fundamentalism vs. Christian Fundamentalism, ISBN 978-1-4214-0596-4
  46. ^ Justin Farrell: Corporate funding and ideological polarization about climate change . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . tape 113 , no. 1 , 2015, p. 92-97 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.1509433112 .
  47. ^ Robert J. Brulle: Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of US climate change counter-movement organizations . In: Climatic Change . tape 122 , no. 4 , 2014, p. 681-694 , doi : 10.1007 / s10584-013-1018-7 .
  48. ^ Riley E. Dunlap, Aaron M. McCright: Organized Climate Change Denial. In: John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard, David Schlosberg (Eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford University Press 2011, pp. 144-160, p. 149.
  49. ^ Riley Dunlap, Aaron M. McCright: Challenging Climate Change. The Denial Countermovement. In: Riley Dunlap, Robert J. Brulle (Eds.): Climate Change and Society. Sociological Perspectives. Report of the American Sociological Association's Task Force on Sociology and Global Climate Change. Oxford University Press 2015, 300-332, p. 316.
  50. ↑ Michael E. Mann , Tom Toles: The madhouse effect. How climate change denial threatens our planet, destroys our politics and drives us insane . Erlangen 2018, pp. 121–126, esp. 122f.
  51. ^ Bill Press : The Obama Hate Machine , ISBN 978-0-312-64164-1 , pp. 207/208
personal data
SURNAME Koch, Charles G.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Koch, Charles de Ganahl (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Wichita , Kansas