Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty (45 page)

BOOK: Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty
10.97Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

35. “
my father was initially furious
”: Koch,
The Science of Success
, p. 10.

36.
He suffered a major heart attack
: “Industrialist Fred Koch Dies on Hunting Trip,”
The Wichita Eagle
, November 19, 1967.

37. “
Boy, that was a magnificent shot
”: “The Billionaire’s Party,”
New York
, July 25, 2010.

Chapter 5. Successor

1. “
His death threw responsibility
”: “Industrialist Fred Koch Dies on Hunting Trip,”
The Wichita Eagle
, November 19, 1967.

2. “
he was never impressed with flattery
”: Pastor Rang W. Morgan’s eulogy, Clarence E. Manion Papers, Chicago Historical Society, Box 74, Folder 4.

3.
boarded a small plane
: “Wild Bill Koch,”
Vanity Fair
, June 1994.

4. “
It may be either a blessing or a curse
”: text of the letter provided by Koch Industries.

5.
Their father removed Frederick from his will
:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
(18th Kan., 1991), testimony of Charles Koch.

6.
unaware of Frederick’s removal
: Leslie Wayne interview notes.

7. “
said that she would never favor
”:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
, testimony of Frederick Koch.

8. “
I have never forgotten your saying
”:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch,
trial transcript.

9.
Mary resisted Frederick’s efforts
: Ibid.

10.
Fred left
: Last Will and Testament of Fred C. Koch, 1966.

11.
counseled Charles to sell his father’s corporate assets
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Sterling Varner.

12. “
I was scared
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Charles Koch.

13. “
We don’t typically want to broadcast
”: “High Profit, Low Profile,”
Forbes
, July 15, 1974.

14. “
Our change of corporate identity
”: “Koch Industries Reveals Plans, Changes Name,”
The Wichita Eagle
, June 27, 1968.

15. “
Charles had all of his father’s ability
”: J. Howard Marshall II,
Done in Oil
(Texas A&M University Press, 1994), p. 253.

16. “
I generally do not like partners
”: Ibid., p. 254.

17. “
Charles had been pressing
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Sterling Varner.

18. “
we were handling around a fifth
”: Ibid.

19. “
We were willing to build
”: Charles Koch,
The Science of Success
(Wiley, 2007), p. 12.

20. “
I have wanted one of those big tractors
”: John Lincoln,
Rich Grass and Sweet Water: Ranch Life with the Koch Matador Cattle Company
(Texas A&M University Press, 1989), p. 14.

21. “
he always priced them way above the market
”: Ibid., p. 14.

22.
nearly $500 million
: “Family Feud at a Corporate Colossus,”
Fortune
, July 26, 1982.

23.
He grew so accustomed to fielding middle-of-the-night calls
: Interview with Nancy Pfotenhauer.

24. “
get the most exercise
”: “High Profit, Low Profile,”
Forbes
, July 15, 1974.

25.
convened a meeting on a Sunday afternoon
: “Koch and His Empire Grew Together,”
The Wichita Eagle
, June 26, 1994.

26.
650 employees
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Charles Koch.

27. “
Frederick and I had quite different interests
”: Ibid.

28. “
I had accepted my father’s analysis of Freddie
”:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
, testimony of Charles Koch.

29. “
I thought it was presumptuous
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, testimony of Frederick Koch.

30.
$16,000 a year
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, testimony of David Koch.

31.
developing cigarette filters
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, deposition of David Koch, October 3, 1991.

32. “
Kitzbuhl’s where the swingers are
”: “Social Roulette a la Harvard,”
The Boston Globe
, February 15, 1967.

33. “
very technical, but also sales oriented
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Sterling Varner.

34. “
I took great pride
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

35. “
He almost killed us
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Sterling Varner.

36.
The Buzzis owned a chain of department stores
: “Former President of Hinkel’s Dies,”
The Wichita Eagle
, June 18, 1999.

37.
Charles delivered his marriage proposal
: “Koch and His Empire Grew Together,”
The Wichita Eagle
, June 26, 1994.

38. “
I am so goal-oriented
”: “Koch and His Empire Grew Together,”
The Wichita Eagle
, June 26, 1994.

39.
discourses on economics
: “Charles Koch Relentless in Pursuing His Goals,”
The Wichita Eagle
, October 11, 2012.

Chapter 6. Rise of the Kochtopus

1.
Nestled into this pastoral tableau
: Robert LeFevre,
A Way to Be Free, Volume II
(Pulpless, 1999), pp. 274–75.

2. “
with the power of thunder
”: “Conservatives at Freedom School to Prepare a New Federal Constitution,”
The New York Times
, June 13, 1965.

3.
He also spoke of having an out-of-body experience
: George Thayer,
The Farther Shores of Politics
(Simon & Schuster, 1967), p. 268.

4.
His experiences dealing with city bureaucrats
: “Conservatives at Freedom School to Prepare a New Federal Constitution,”
The New York Times
, June 13, 1965.

5. “
Voting is the method for obtaining legal power
”: “Abstain from Beans,” Voluntaryist.com.

6. “
slavery is rationalized
”: LeFevre,
A Way to Be Free
, p. 319.

7.
LeFevre was so puritanical
: Brian Doherty,
Radicals for Capitalism
(Public Affairs, 2007), p. 316.

8.
roped David into enrolling
: Doherty,
Radicals for Capitalism
, p. 407.

9.
Charles often sequestered himself
: “The Front Lines: Charles Koch Teaches Staff to Run a Firm Like a Free Nation,”
Wall Street Journal,
April 18, 1997.

10.
credited two works
: Charles Koch,
The Science of Success
(Wiley, 2007), p. ix.

11. “
economics is not about goods and services
”: Ludwig von Mises,
Human Action
(Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998), p. 491.

12. “
a society that chooses between capitalism and socialism
”: Ibid., p. 676.

13. “
increased output per hour of work
”: F. A. Harper,
Why Wages Rise
(Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., 1957), p. 19.

14. “
greatest opportunity… for a quick increase in wages
”: Ibid., p. 72.

15. “
compulsory employment devices
”: Ibid., p. 94.

16. “
I’ve never looked back
”: Remarks by Charles Koch to the Association of Private Enterprise Education, April 3, 2005.

17. “
societal well being was only possible
”: Speech by Charles Koch to the Philanthropy Roundtable, October 28, 2011.

18. “
Every time I hear of an entrepreneur
”: “U.S. Is Accused of Welfarism by a Speaker at KU,”
Lawrence Daily Journal-World
, December 16, 1965.

19. “
sturdy shoes
”: Freedom School 1963 Prospectus, Group Research Inc. Records, Box 144, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.

20. “
they would be excluded from class discussions
”: Ibid.

21.
his school had yet to admit a black person
: “Conservatives at Freedom School to Prepare a New Federal Constitution,”
The New York Times
, June 13, 1965.

22.
Charles became one of six officers at the school
: Freedom Schools, Inc. Form 990, 1964, Group Research Inc. Records, Box 144, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.

23.
donated nearly $7,000
: Ibid.

24.
disapproved of LeFevre’s offbeat teachings and his approach
: Craig Miner,
Grede of Milwaukee
(Watermark Press, 1989), p. 245.

25. “
Let’s Get Out of Vietnam Now
”: Ibid., p. 234.

26. “
You belong with us in this fight
”: Robert Welch to Charles Koch, November 4, 1968, William J. Grede Papers, Wisconsin Historical Society.

27.
describing them as “devotees
”: “Covert Operations,”
The New Yorker
, August 30, 2010.

28. “
they were never ‘devotees’ ”
: “The New Yorker’s Koch Story Is Not Credible Journalism,” KochFacts.com, September 29, 2010.

29. “
a defining moment in my life
”: “Hans F. Sennholz, 1922–2007,”
The Freeman
, October 1, 2007.

30. “
converted” his wife “to anarchy in about 30 minutes.
”: Walter Block, Ed.,
I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians
(Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010), p. 377.

31. “
I was looking for ways to develop, apply, and spread
”: Remarks by Charles Koch to the Association of Private Enterprise Education, April 3, 2005.

32. “
no one was familiar with these ideas
”: “The Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics,”
The Weekly Standard
, April 4, 2011.

33. “
We did not see politicians as setting the prevalent ideology
”: “Comments Made at Meeting of Foundation Directors Sponsored by the Hegeler Institute,” Benjamin A. Rogge Papers, 1945–2005, Box 24, Hoover Institution Archives.

34. “
He taught us about liberty
”: F. A. Harper,
The Writings of F.A. Harper, Volume One: The Major Works
(Institute for Humane Studies, 1978), p. 1.

35.
Their plan called for the formation of a Libertarian Society
: Ibid., p. 216.

36. “
Now, we have quite a few scholars in the libertarian movement
”: Ibid., p. 217.

37. “
He was more hard-core than I was
”: “The Battle for the Cato Institute,”
Washingtonian
, May 30, 2012.

38. “
It would be nice to have a libertarian think tank
”: Ibid.

39.
Portraits of what the Catoites called the “dead libertarians”
: Interview with Jeff Riggenbach.

40.
the distinctly shabbier offices
: Interview with Milton Mueller.

41.
Childs had first struck up a correspondence
: Roy Childs to George Pearson, June 14, 1969, Roy A. Childs Papers, Box 5, Hoover Institution Archives.

42.
In one case, Charles grew angry
: Roy Childs to Charles Koch, November 26, 1969, Roy A. Childs Papers, Box 5, Hoover Institution Archives.

43.
spotted at the greasy spoon down the street
: Interview with Justin Raimondo.

44.
raised his fists in the boxing stance
: Interview with Walter Block.

45. “
It is to serve as a night watchman
”: “Wichita Millionaire Blasts Government Intervention,” United Press International, June 13, 1979.

46. “
How discrediting it is for us
”: “The Business Community: Resisting Regulation,”
Libertarian Review
, May 1978.

47. “
Who is against liberty?
”: “Libertarians & Conservatives,”
National Review
, June 8, 1979.

48.
A separate article focused on Cato
: “Cato Institute & the Invisible Finger,”
National Review
, June 9, 1979.

49. “
buy the major Libertarian institutions
”: Samuel Edward Konkin III,
New Libertarian Manifesto
(Komen Publishing, 1983), p. 7.

50.
he cajoled Bill and David
: Leslie Wayne interview notes.

51. “
Here was a great guy
”: “How Those Libertarians Pay the Bills,”
New York
, November 3, 1980.

52.
David circulated a letter
: “Libertarians in Convention,”
Libertarian Review
, November 1979.

53. “
I was disturbed by it
”: “Seducing the Left,”
Mother Jones
, May 1980.

54. “
We are no longer at the stage where the movement can be ‘bought’ ”
: “Libertarians in Convention,”
Libertarian Review
, November 1979.

55. “
short but very valuable
”: Audio recording of David Koch’s speech to the Libertarian Party convention in possession of the author.

Other books

Prince William by Penny Junor
Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer
Mountain Rose by Norah Hess
I Think Therefore I Play by Pirlo, Andrea, Alciato, Alessandro