Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty (46 page)

56. “
Before you can teach
”: “Libertarian Candidate Says Campaign Symbolic,”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
, November 19, 1979.

57. “
The real threat to the [Libertarian Party]
”: “Reason Profile,”
Reason
, December 1974.

58. “
Our greatest strength
”: “Reminiscences & Prognostications,”
Reason
, May 1978.

59. “
pushing the party into a stance
”: David Nolan to Ed Clark, March 13, 1980, Ed Clark Papers, Box 8, Hoover Institution Archives.

60. “
a paradigm shift in all parts of the ‘Kochtopus’ ”
: Doherty,
Radicals for Capitalism
, p. 416.

61. “
low-tax liberalism
”: Ibid., p. 415.

62.
more than $2 million
: Ibid., p. 414.

63.
David reflected on the campaign as a personal triumph
: “MIT Class of 1962 25th Reunion,” Institute Archives and Special Collections, MIT Libraries.

64. “
The Clark/Koch campaign was a fourfold disaster
”: “The Clark Campaign: Never Again,”
Libertarian Forum
, September–December 1980.

65. “
SMASH THE CRANE MACHINE
”: “Free Radical; Libertarian—and Contrarian—Ed Crane Has Run the Cato Institute for 25 Years. His Way,”
The Washington Post
, May 9, 2002.

66. “
we believe it would be difficult, if not impossible
”: “It Usually Ends with Ed Crane,”
Libertarian Forum
, January–April 1981.

67. “
This action is illegal
”: Ibid.

68.
had angered its benefactor
: Interview with Justin Raimondo.

69. “
The massive shift of the Kochtopus to D.C.
”: “The State of the Movement: The Implosion,”
Libertarian Forum
, September–December 1984.

1.
Christmas Day 1979
: This account is drawn from a variety of sources, including Charles Koch’s trial testimony in
Koch v. Koch Industries
and
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
; Leslie Wayne’s 1986 interview with Mary Koch; and “Brothers at Odds,”
The New York Times
, December 7, 1986. Asked about this episode during the
Koch v. Koch Industries
trial, Bill responded, “I don’t remember that.”

2.
perceived Mary as cool and distant
: “Wild Bill Koch,”
Vanity Fair
, June 1994.

3.
pressed her on the disposition of the family’s art collection
:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
, trial testimony of Charles Koch.

4. “
just leave her alone
”: “Testimony Discloses Emotional Cost of Koch Family Split,”
The Wichita Eagle
, December 6, 1991.

5.
Bill laid into Charles
: Leslie Wayne interview notes.

6.
a company lawyer had presented Bill with a draft estate plan
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

7.
Sobbing
: “Brothers at Odds,”
The New York Times Magazine
, December 7, 1986.

8. “
He had a country-club attitude
”: “Wild Bill Koch.”

9.
bleeding $90,000
: “The Curse on the Koch Brothers,”
Fortune,
February 17, 1997.

10. “
Bill couldn’t get to work on time
”: Ibid.

11.
The deal netted Koch $5 million
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, testimony of Bill Koch.

12.
Koch executives felt he could waffle
: Leslie Wayne interview notes.

13.
Koch Carbon did not fare well
: “The Curse on the Koch Brothers.”

14. “
Bill was never happy running a division
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Sterling Varner.

15. “
It was important for Bill to be important
”: “The Curse on the Koch Brothers.”

16. “
He wanted unilateral authority
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

17.
a surefire morale killer
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Charles Koch.

18. “
We don’t want to go out and acquire the world
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

19. “
He was very upset
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

20. “
My emotions carried me away
”: Ibid.

21. “
Prince Charles
”: Ibid.

22.
Bill trashed Charles
: Ibid.

23. “
What is the purpose of these attacks on me?
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial transcript.

24.
returned criminal indictments
: “Koch Industries Inc., Unit Officers Indicted on Conspiracy Charge,”
Wall Street Journal
, June 19, 1980.

25.
more than $1 billion
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch; also, “Former Koch Employee Testifies,”
Topeka Capital-Journal
, April 19, 1998.

26.
overcharging on sales of propane
: “FEA Hits Koch Gas Prices,”
The Wichita Eagle
, April 11, 1975.

27. “
libertarian revolution causes
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

28. “
the political philosophy of one man
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
(D. Kans., 1982), deposition of Bill Koch, December 20, 1982.

29.
about 6 percent
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

30. “
That was our religion
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Sterling Varner.

31. “
insatiable
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

32.
nearly $4 million
: Ibid.

33. “
literally over my dead body
”: “Mr. Big,”
Forbes
, March 3, 2006.

34. “
the officers and directors would be in jail
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch. Cordes said: “I testified fully to all of those facts some 16 years ago in a jury case and the jury found in our favor, so I really don’t remember any of the details. Billy made a lot of allegations that the jury rejected, so that’s all I can say.”

35.
had known about the illegal activities
: Ibid.

36.
an eleven-page single-spaced letter
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial transcripts.

37. “
W.I.K. Has Leveled Serious Charges
”: Ibid.

38. “
Charles Koch is the boss
”: Ibid.

39. “
I don’t believe I have misread Bill’s intention
”: Ibid.

40. “
I said I would live up to the rules of the corporation
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

41. “
progress had been made in clearing up these harsh feelings
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

42.
He was as uneasy as ever
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

43. “
If you have irrevocably decided that you cannot tolerate me
”: Ibid.

44. “
Corporate democracy
”: Ibid.

45.
Bill’s consortium
: The share breakdown comes from
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial transcripts and related documents filed in the case.

46.
The extent of his involvement
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Frederick Koch.

47.
a homosexual blackmail attempt
: “The Curse on the Koch Brothers.”

48. “
My primary effort
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial transcripts.

49.
he told the banker a parable
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
(1982), deposition of Bill Koch, December 21, 1982.

50.
Bill stepped into Charles’s office
: The account of their meeting comes from
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Charles and Bill Koch.

51. “
One piece of advice
”: “Secretive Koch Reveals Power Struggle,”
The Wichita Eagle
, July 10, 1982.

52.
He wanted to gauge where Frederick stood
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

53. “
Fred listened attentively
”: Ibid.

54. “
I got this notice, Freddie, what’s going on?
”: Ibid.

55.
the goal was not to remove Charles as CEO
:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
, trial testimony of Frederick Koch.

56. “
either the smartest or the luckiest thing I ever did
”: J. Howard Marshall II,
Done in Oil
(Texas A&M University Press, 1994), p. 254.

57.
Marshall had reassured Koch’s worried CEO
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Charles Koch.

58. “
What do we do now?
”: Marshall,
Done in Oil
, p. 256.

59. “
there’s one thing that Howard III understands
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Charles Koch.

60.
he offered to double it
: Ibid.

61.
brought the old man to tears
: Ibid.

62.
stored in a safety-deposit box
: Ibid.

63.
$140 a share
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of David Koch.

64.
their safety could not be guaranteed
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of James Linn. Don Cordes would later deny making a threat, saying, “This story developed a life of its own.” In addition to Linn, two members of the Simmons family remember this episode.

65.
He sent the presents back
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

66.
Charles told his mother
:
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
, trial testimony of Charles and David Koch.

67. “
He was almost paralyzed
”: “Wild Bill Koch,”
Vanity Fair
, June 1994.

68.
urged him to visit a Boston psychiatrist
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, Simmons plaintiffs’ statement, March 31, 1998.

69. “
I asked a number of questions
”: Ibid.

70. “
Bill was a very demanding client
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, deposition of Alfred Eckert, October 21, 1992.

71.
Another pressure point was publicity
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, deposition of Bill Koch, March 5, 1993.

72.
the corporate discord spilled into the press
: “Family Feud at a Corporate Colossus,”
Fortune
, July 26, 1982.

73.
later turned out to be Bill
:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, trial testimony of Bill Koch.

74.
Charles and David retaliated with a $400 million countersuit
: “Court Filing Continues in Koch Feud,”
The Wichita Eagle
, January 11, 1983.

75. “
We came into this fight together
”:
Koch v. Koch Industries
, deposition of Bill Koch, April 6, 1993.

76. “
horse trading to around $220
”: Ibid.

77. “
I’m not going to go with their draft
”: Ibid.

78. “
We’ve got our business affairs separated
”: “Witness Recalls Charles Koch Snub,”
Topeka Capital-Journal
, April 10, 1998.

79.
a symbolic resolution
: Koch Industries board resolution, 1984.

1.
She felt his absence most acutely
: Mary expressed her feelings about the feud between her sons in correspondence introduced in a lawsuit over her will (
In the Matter of the Estate of Mary R. Koch
); Mary Koch to Bill Koch and Joan Granlund, October 26, 1984.

2.
she lay awake nights
: Mary Koch to Bill Koch, undated.

3. “
made of stubborn Dutch stock
”: Ibid.

4.
act of “character assassination
”: Mary Koch to Bill Koch and Joan Granlund, July 14, 1982.

5. “
You have judged Charles
”: Mary Koch to William and Joan Koch, October 19, 1982.

6. “
help me to mend bridges not destroy them
”: Mary Koch to Frederick Koch, undated.

7. “
This conflict is tearing me down
”: Mary Koch to Bill Koch, undated.

8. “
Please listen to me before I die!
”: Mary Koch to Bill Koch and Joan Granlund, October 19, 1982.

9. “
I never was so relieved
”: Mary Koch to Frederick Koch, June 16, 1983.

10. “
I trust & pray that you can find some business
”: Mary Koch to Bill Koch, July 10, 1983.