26. “said to have infiltrated Republican organizations”: “Mutiny in the Birch Society,” Saturday Evening Post, April 6, 1967.
27. repealed by referendum a city fluoridation plan: “Fluoride Fight Has Long Rights, Passionate Advocates,” The Wichita Eagle, October 27, 2012.
28. “when the Communists… begin to light these racial fires”: Fred C. Koch to Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer, July 9, 1963, Albert C. Wedemeyer Papers, Box 45, Folder 30, Hoover Institution Archives.
29. ordered 2,500 copies: Rick Perlstein, Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus (Hill & Wang, 2001), p. 62.
30. “They are the kind we need in politics”: “Goldwater Hits Birch Views,” Associated Press, March 30, 1961.
31. Buckley volunteered for the assignment: “Goldwater, the John Birch Society, and Me,” Commentary, March 2008.
32. “so far removed from common sense”: Ibid.
33. “a weapon of demagoguery”: Jonathan Schoenwald, A Time for Choosing: The Rise of Modern American Conservatism (Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 63.
34. “I wrote Buckley”: Fred C. Koch to Elizabeth Churchill Brown, February 9, 1962, Elizabeth Churchill Brown Papers, Box 2, Folder 19, Hoover Institution Archives.
35. ran twice, unsuccessfully, for Congress: “Civic, Business Leader, William Robinson, Dies,” The Wichita Eagle, December 27, 1993.
36. “Billy is a very compassionate guy”: “Captain America,” Sports Illustrated, April 20, 1992.
37. “Father was paranoid about communism”: “The Billionaire’s Party,” New York, July 25, 2010.
38. “The U.S. government is trying to win votes”: “U.S. Is Accused of Welfarism by a Speaker at KU,” Lawrence Daily Journal-World, December 16, 1965.
39. opened a John Birch Society bookstore: “Two Birch Society Members Open Bookstore,” The Wichita Eagle, July 15, 1965.
Chapter 4. May Day at MIT
1. dug an old ROTC uniform out of his closet: Interview with Kent Groninger.
2. being pelted with bottles: “MIT, B.U. Riot Follows Hanging of Castro Effigy,” The Boston Globe, May 2, 1961; and “700 Students in Riots,” The Tech, May 3, 1961.
3. “the Engineers prostrated themselves”: “MIT Invades the Yard,” The Harvard Crimson, May 2, 1961.
4. News of the anticommunist student uprising: Interview with Kent Groninger.
5. a halfhearted MIT investigation: “Letters,” The Tech, May 10, 1961.
6. “Led by the brothers Koch”: MIT Technique, 1962.
7. “Great friends, wild parties”: “MIT Class of 1962 25th Reunion,” Institute Archives and Special Collections, MIT Libraries.
8. A top rebounder: “Meet the Captains,” The Tech, November 15, 1961.
9. Bill was a second-stringer: “Interest High for Harvard Game Tomorrow,” The Tech, December 9, 1960.
10. MIT’s basketball team had a dismal track record: “Hoopsters Have Losing Season; Win Only Three of Sixteen Games,” The Tech, March 10, 1959.
11. Recognizing their inexperience: “Barry Well Earns ‘Coach of the Year’ Title,” The Tech, March 7, 1962.
12. “He organized the team to compensate”: “Captain America,” Sports Illustrated, April 20, 1992.
13. apologized to Barry: “Crimson Basketball Players Romp to Easy 84–34 Triumph at MIT,” The Harvard Crimson, December 14, 1959.
14. aggravated an old knee injury: “Cagers Beaten by Springfield, USCGS,” The Tech, January 12, 1960.
15. Averaging 24 points a game: “Area Coaches Pick Tech Star to All New England Team,” The Tech, February 10, 1961.
16. “The backbone of the team”: “Tech Five Beats RPI in Finale,” The Tech, March 10, 1961.
17. “hustling, fighting, aggressive”: “Meet the Captains,” The Tech, November 15, 1961.
18. “We didn’t even have to attend class”: “Succeeding Through the Foundations of Science,” MIT speech, May 1, 1997.
19. A heart attack had also claimed his older brother: Interview with Carol Margaret Allen.
20. “remain in business until I died”: Fred C. Koch to Robert Welch, August 19, 1966, Clarence E. Manion Papers, Chicago Historical Society, Box 74, Folder 4.
21. left the faintest of impressions: Interviews with several Harvard classmates.
22. “far more interesting work than what was required of me”: Harvard College Class of 1955 Triennial Report, 1958.
23. his master’s thesis: Frederick R. Koch, “No Bed for Bacon: A Musical Comedy in 18 Scenes,” Haas Family Arts Library, Special Collections, Yale University.
24. “familiar with a booklet or pamphlet”: Frederick R. Koch to ONE Institute, July 15, 1959, Box 29, ONE Incorporated records, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
25. “My father was quite concerned”: Koch v. Koch Industries, testimony of Frederick Koch.
26. “inferiority complex”: Leslie Wayne interview notes.
27. “Freddie never composed anything himself”: “Survival of the Richest,” Fame, November 1989.
28. “He told me either you come back here”: “Koch vs. Koch,” The Wichita Eagle, March 8, 1998.
29. “I hope your first deal is a loser”: Charles Koch, The Science of Success (Wiley, 2007), p. 10.
30. “I have tried to discourage him”: Fred C. Koch to Elizabeth Brown, January 22, 1962, Elizabeth Churchill Brown Papers, Box 2, Folder 19, Hoover Institution Archives.
31. “I think we are going to pour the money down the drain”: Fred Chase Koch to Elizabeth Brown, February 9, 1962, Elizabeth Churchill Brown Papers, Box 2, Folder 19, Hoover Institution Archives.
32. “the junk”: “Family Feud at a Corporate Colossus,” Fortune, August 26, 1982.
33. “Who?”: John Lincoln, Rich Grass and Sweet Water: Ranch Life with the Koch Matador Cattle Company (Texas A&M University Press, 1989), p. 14.
34. “He really taught me a lot about the importance of people”: “Koch and His Empire Grew Together,” The Wichita Eagle, June 26, 1994.
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 Blas
ts 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.
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.
Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty Page 40
