Koch Network

Follow the money in the Koch wiki.

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Since at least 2006, the Koch brothers have hosted semi-annual meetings for wealthy right-wing donors, sometimes referred to as the Koch network. While these gatherings are carefully guarded, occasional leaked documents and recordings have revealed that they include "titans of industry — from health insurance companies, oil executives, Wall Street investors, and real estate tycoons — working together with conservative journalists and Republican operatives," as well as prominent public officials, including members of Congress, state governors, and even Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. The meetings involve fundraising, reportedly in the millions of dollars, as well as discussions about political strategy.

The known locations, dates, and participants in Koch network meetings are listed below.

Koch Wiki

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360.

Koch Donor Summits and Known Attendees

January 2019, Indian Wells, California

At a luxury resort in the California desert, 634 donors who are committed to giving $100,000 dollars or more to Koch Network organizations. Of those 634, 181 are new donors this year. Reports from the summit say that the Network decided to take a more "politically muted tone than in years past." Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and Senators Ben Sasse and Mike Lee were slated to be in attendance. Divisions between the Koch Network and the GOP were apparent as the Network stated intention to curtail partisan efforts within politics and the RNC stated "it does not plan to renew a data-sharing agreement with the Koch network for the 2020 cycle, after years of working in tandem to enrich voter files for GOP campaigns and state parties."

January 2017, Indian Wells, California

At the 2017 Koch Donor Summit in California, the Koch network announced that they plan to spend between "$300 million and $400 million to influence politics and public policy over the next two years." Most of the money will be used to fund the astroturf efforts of Koch groups like Americans for Prosperity, Generation Opportunity, Libre Initiative, and Concerned Veterans for America. Over 550 donors were in attendance for the summit with each willing to contribute at least $100,000 a year to the network.

Elected officials in attendance at Indian Wells included: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (PA), Sen. David Perdue (GA), Sen. Ben Sasse (NE), Sen. Mike Lee (UT) and Sen. James Lankford (OK), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (UT) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN). Nobody from the Trump administration was reported to be in attendance.

July-August 2016, Colorado Springs, Colorado

2016 Koch Summit Reading list, Page 1

2016 Koch Summit Reading list, Page 2

Charles Koch and his network will not support Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election, he stressed at the Koch donor summit in Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 30-August 1, 2016. Koch Industries general council and senior vice president, Mark Holden said that, "from a values, and beliefs and policy perspective," neither candidate interests the Kochs. Instead, the massive Koch donor network is "focused on the Senate." Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips echoed Holden when he was quoted by CBS News as saying, "We're not engaged on the presidential."

The AP reported that,

"The weekend's agenda for the estimated 400 donors gathered in Colorado Springs featured a series of policy discussions and appearances from several elected officials in addition to (Paul) Ryan: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas. Rep Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado."

Koch said at the meeting that the donor network will spend roughly $750 million in the 2016 election cycle. Matea Gold of the Washington Post wrote that roughly $250 million of this will be used to finance "the policy and political campaigns of groups such as Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Partners Action Fund, Concerned Veterans for America, the Libre Initiative and Generation Opportunity.

"Unprecedented" Spending Plans for 2016 Election Cycle

At the January 2015 Koch network meeting, it was revealed that the network planned to spend $889 million on the 2016 election campaign, a goal the New York Times called "unprecedented" and which "would put it on track to spend nearly as much as the campaigns of each party’s presidential nominee."

In October 2015, the network had reportedly "raised and ha[d] commitments for about $600m," and donors associated with the network had contributed at least $20 million to Super PACs supporting Republican candidates, The Guardian reported, including:

"Arizonan Randy Kendrick, a wealthy conservative who has donated $100,000 to a pro-Rubio Super Pac and is also a leading fundraiser for his campaign committee in her home state of Maryland. Kendrick is a regular attendee at the Kochs’s semiannual retreats.

"Ken Griffin, who runs Citadel, a large Chicago hedge fund, and has donated to Koch network projects. Griffin also chipped in $100,000 to the pro-Rubio Super Pac, and $100,000 to the pro-Jeb Bush super Pac, Right to Rise USA.

"Hedge-fund mogul Robert Mercer, a big donor to the Koch network, who poured $11m into the pro-Cruz Pac, Keep the Promise I, of which $500,000 was shipped to the Fiorina-supporting Super Pac, Carly for America.

"Helen Schwab, the wife of investor Charles Schwab, a longtime donor to the Koch network, who gave $1.5m to the Jeb Bush-supporting Super Pac, Right to Rise USA."

August 2015, Dana Point, California

The Koch network held its 2015 summer meeting July 31-August 2 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach luxury resort in Dana Point, California. According to Politico, about 450 donors attended. Attendees included several Republican candidates for President: former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Politico also reported that several elected officials in attendance spoke about the influence of the Koch's donor network. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey "recalled that he attended a previous conference as a donor before being elected to his state’s top office last year. 'Every time I’ve been invited to this conference, I’ve benefited from this conference,' he said." Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), all first elected in 2014, "credited Koch network donors for helping the GOP take control of the Senate that year. 'Your help over the last election cycle produced the numbers that we have today,. Scott said [...] 'The major contributions and investments that you have made have played a major role."

Click here for a transcript of Charles Koch's speech.

Others reportedly in attendance included:

• Art Pope, "longtime Koch network donor," CEO of Variety Wholesalers, director of the Pope Foundation
• Kellie Peters, "major Ohio donor focused on education reform"
• Nancy Pfotenhauer, board member of Americans for Prosperity
• Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO)
• Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)
• Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

Politico also reported that New York hedge fund tycoon Robert Mercer was a Koch network donor.

Controversy Over "Strings Attached" to Media Access

This was the first summit that allowed major newsmedia to attend, but only after reporters agreed to certain conditions. Nine media organizations reportedly agreed: Associated Press, Bloomberg News, CNN, Politico, Time Magazine, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Washington Times.

Politico reported that it attended the summit "on the condition that donors spotted there not be named unless they agreed to be identified." One of its staff members, Mike Allen, also conducted a set of on-stage interviews with presidential candidates during the summit.

Michael Calderone of The Huffington Post raised concerns about the restrictions: "The problem is that the ground rules could restrict journalists from reporting what's right in front of their eyes... So it’s possible journalists end up reporting largely what the event sponsors want, such as fiery speeches and candidate remarks criticizing Democrats, but less on the power brokers attending who play key behind-the-scenes roles in the 2016 election."

The Undercurrent, which was also at the resort but "was not granted any special access," criticized media for agreeing to the restrictions, writing, "The presence of major media companies at the retreat lends the Koch operation the appearance of transparency, essentially white-washing activities that are corrosive to American democracy."

January 2015, Palm Springs, California

According to Politico, the Koch network planned to hold its winter meeting the weekend of January 23 at a hotel in Palm Springs, California. Sources told Politico that Republican politicians including "Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin received coveted invitations to speak to the vaunted network assembled by the billionaire industrialist megadonors Charles and David Koch." Walker's plans to attend were confirmed by a campaign spokesperson.

At the meeting, it was revealed that the network planned to spend $889 million on the 2016 election campaign, a goal the New York Times called "unprecedented" and which "would put it on track to spend nearly as much as the campaigns of each party’s presidential nominee."

“It’s no wonder the candidates show up when the Koch brothers call,” said David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama. “That’s exponentially more money than any party organization will spend. In many ways, they have superseded the party.”

June 2014, Dana Point, California

The June 2014 Koch conference appears to have been held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, near San Diego, California. The entire hotel was reserved under the name "T&R Sales Meeting" for the weekend of June 14-17, and "guests who weren’t part of the conference [...] were escorted out of the hotel by security on Saturday afternoon." Reporters who were among those escorted out reported that the conference theme was "American Courage, Our Commitment to a Free Society" and attendees appeared to be discussing new Common Core education standards and the IRS investigation of political non-profits. A new super PAC, Freedom Partners Action Fund, was also announced at the summit, according to Politico. It "aims to spend more than $15 million in the 2014 midterm campaigns."

Reportedly present at the summit were "James Davis, former communications director and chief spokesman for the 2012 Republican National Convention" and affiliated with Freedom Partners, "Carl Anderson, former chairman and CEO of Arrow International Inc. and current board member and independent director at Carpenter Technology Corp," David Koch, and Charles Koch. The speaker list was reported to include Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Dr. Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve.

Groups reported to be in attendance included:

• Concerned Veterans for America
• Center for Shared Services
• The Libre Initiative
• Americans for Prosperity
• Mercatus Center
• Charles G. Koch Foundation
• Institute for Humane Studies
• i360, owned by Freedom Partners
• Charles Koch Institute
• Generation Opportunity

Audio of Koch Politicians

Audio recordings of some portions of the meeting were obtained by The Undercurrent, Huffington Post, and The Nation. The recordings included speeches by three Republican Senate candidates: Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst, Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton, and Colorado Rep. Cory Gardner, and remarks by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Ernst credited the Koch network with advancing his career, saying "But the exposure to this group and to this network and the opportunity to meet so many of you, that really started my trajectory." Cotton highlighted the role of Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity: ""Americans for Prosperity in Arkansas has played a critical role in turning our state from a one-party Democratic state [inaudible] building the kind of constant engagement to get people in the state involved in their communities."

McConnell attacked campaign finance limits, saying that "The worst day of my political life was when President George W. Bush signed McCain-Feingold into law in the early part of his first administration." He also described plans to "go after" Democrats by using attaching riders to spending bills. "No money can be spent to do this or to do that. We’re going to go after them on healthcare, on financial services, on the Environmental Protection Agency, across the board [inaudible]. All across the federal government, we’re going to go after it."

The recordings and transcripts are available here: McConnell's remarks, Senate candidates, Koch operatives.

List of Attendees

According to conference documents obtained by The Nation, the following people participated in the June 2014 summit:

Attendees

Name(s)	Industry	Notes
Charles Koch		Koch Industries
David Koch		Koch Industries
Rep. Tom Cotton		Republican, Arkansas
Rep. Cory Gardner		Republican, Colorado
Rep. Jim Jordan		Republican, Ohio
Sen. Mitch McConnell		Republican, Kentucky
Sen. Marco Rubio		Republican, Florida
State Sen. [Joni Ernst]]		Republican, Iowa
Rich DeVos		co-founder of Amway, owner of the Orlando Magic
Gavin Herberg	pharmaceuticals	founder, Allergan; major funder of ALEC
Mark Holden	law	senior vice president, general counsel for Koch Industries
Nancy Pfotenhauer		president, MediaSpeak Strategies; former director Koch Industries Washington office
Karen Steward		director of research, Freedom Partners
Hubbel Relat		former associate director, Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation
Amity Shlaes	writer
Charles Murray	political scientist	author, The Bell Curve
Michael Lomax		president and CEO, United Negro College Fund
Jeff Crank	media	radio host, formerly Americans for Prosperity, Aegis Strategic
Dale Gibbens		vice president, Koch Industries
Philip Ellender		president and COO, Koch Companies Public Sector
John Hardin		Charles G. Koch Foundation
Marc Short		Freedom Partners
Norman Reimer	law	National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Daniel Turner		Generation Opportunity
Jose Mallea		The Libre Initiative
Teresa Oelke		Americans for Prosperity
Michael Palmer		leading session on "Voter Turnout:Using Data to Target, Persuade, and Get-out-the vote"
Emily Seidel		leading session on "Voter Turnout:Using Data to Target, Persuade, and Get-out-the vote"
Brian Hooks		Mercatus Center, executive director
Chad Thevenot		Institute for Humane Studies, COO
Derek Johnson		Charles G. Koch Foundation, program manager for higher education
Dr. Victor Davis Hanson		American military historian, writer for National Review
Dr. Will Ruger		Mercatus Center
Steve Lombardo		Koch Industries
Adam Millsap		possibly: former Koch Intern, intern at Reason Foundation
Diana Thomas		Mercatus Center
Jim Otteson		Fund for American Studies, BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest
Ryan Stowers		Charles G. Koch Foundation, director of higher education programs
Evan Feinberg		Generation Opportunity
Rachel Campos-Duffy		The Libre Initiative
Marty Zupan		Institute for Humane Studies
Tim Phillips		Americans for Prosperity, president
Phil Cox		possibly: Republican Governors Association
Jeff Frazee		Young Americans for Liberty
Derrick Sontag		Americans for Prosperity
Doug Ducey		State Treasurer, Arizona
Pete Hegseth		Concerned Veterans for America, CEO
Peter Schweizer		Hoover Institution, Government Accountability Institute
Kevin Gentry		Charles G. Koch Foundation
Justine Fink		Americans for Prosperity
Jennifer Stefano		Americans for Prosperity

February 2014, Palm Springs, California

This is a list of attendees at the Koch brothers' semiannual conference held in Palm Springs in February of 2014. The list was discovered by a hotel guest who provided it to Mother Jones. The document not only lists prominent attendees of the conference, but also executives of Koch Industries, Americans for Prosperity, and Freedom Partners with whom they were scheduled to meet in one-on-one conversations. According to Mother Jones, "the meeting list illustrates the interwoven nature of the Koch brothers' corporate, political, and philanthropic activities" and "suggests a close collaboration between officials of Koch Industries, AFP, and Freedom Partners, whose staff and board are stacked with numerous current and former Koch Industries employees."

List of Attendees

The February 2014 Koch semiannual conference attendees were:

Attendees

Name(s)	Industry	Notes
Carl Berg	Real estate
Ronnie Cameron		Mountaire Corporation
Charles Chandler	Banking	CEO of Intrust Bank
John Childs	Finance	J.W. Childs & Associates
Steve Clark
Jamie Coulter
Bob Fettig		Tankcraft
Steve Fettig		Tankcraft
Paul Foster
George Gibbs
Leslie Gilliam
Richard Gilliam	Mining	Cumberland Resources Corporation, Endurance Gold
Ken Griffin		Citadel
John Griffin		Blue Ridge Capital
Dick Haworth		Haworth
Jerry Hayden		former head of Peacock Engineering
George Jenkins
Richard Kayne		Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors
Dan Kirby		Kirby Financial
Fred Klipsch		Klipsch Group
Frank Kozel		Keystone Energy Oil & Gas Inc.
Francis "Franc" Lee		First Tower, LLC.
Robert Luddy		CativeAire Systems Inc.
Hugh Maclellan		Maclellan Foundation
Kent McCarthy
Andrew Miller
Cecil O'Brate		Palmer Manufacturing & Tank
Verl Purdy		AGDATA Inc.
Tom Rastin		Ariel Corporation
George Records		Hoover Institution
Robert Rowling		TRT Holdings
Ted Saunders
John Schnatter		Papa John's International
Tom Smith
Craig Snider
Jaime Snider
Tina Snider
Dian Stai		Owen Healthcare Inc.
Jim Stephenson		Yancey Bros. Co., Americans for Prosperity board member
Jim Von Ehr		Zyvex Labs
Debra Waller		Jockey International Inc.
Lew Ward		Ward Petroleum Corporation
Dick Weiss		Wells Capital Management
Dean Williams
Karen Wright		Ariel Corporation

List of Koch "players"

These are the Koch "players" who were scheduled to meet with the above attendees.

Koch "players"

Name(s)	Organization
Charles Koch	Koch Industries
David Koch	Koch Industries
Michael Lanzara	Freedom Partners
Steve Feilmeier	Koch Industries
Kevin Gentry	Freedom Partners
Jeff Noble	Freedom Partners
Tim Phillips	Americans for Prosperity
Chris Fink	Americans for Prosperity
Teresa Oelke	Americans for Prosperity
David Fladeboe	Americans for Prosperity
Brett Hinkey	Freedom Partners
Daniel Garza	The Libre Initiative
Chase Koch	Koch Fertilizer
Richard Fink	Koch Industries
Ryan Stowers	Charles G. Koch Foundation
Brian Hooks	Mercatus Center
Marc Short	Freedom Partners
Scott Hagerstrom	Americans for Prosperity Michigan
Jennifer Stefano	Americans for Prosperity Pennsylvania
Tommy Von der Heydt	Americans for Prosperity
Corey Lewandowski	Americans for Prosperity
Slade O'Brien	Americans for Prosperity Florida
John Hardin	Charles G. Koch Foundation
Michael Palmer	i360
Derek Johnson	Charles G. Koch Foundation
Nathan Nascimento	Freedom Partners
James Davis	Freedom Partners
Luke Hilgemann	Americans for Prosperity

August 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Politico reported that the summer 2013 Koch summit was held just outside Albuquerque "at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in Bernalillo, N.M., which was completely booked and had its entrances blocked to traffic." Attendees reportedly included Republican House Majority leader Eric Cantor, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, and Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute.

April 2013, Palm Springs, California

The winter 2013 meeting was held in late April. Politico attributed the schedule change to a need to accommodate an audit of 2012 election spending results. The New York Times reported that attendees included Dr. Ben Carson, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

June 2012, San Diego, California

According to Politico, the Koch brothers hosted a summit in San Diego, California the weekend of June 23, 2012. However, "[t]he specific location of the San Diego summit could not be determined. And a Koch spokesman declined to comment on details of the summit."

January 2012, Indian Wells, California

The winter 2012 summit was reportedly held at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort in Indian Wells, California. The summit is reported to have raised as much as $150 million in donations from attendees.

June 2011, Vail, Colorado

Politico reported that Texas Governor Rick Perry and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, both Republicans, attended the June 2011 Koch retreat in Colorado. Also reported to be in attendance were Wisconsin businessman Fred Young, a major donor to Republican Governor Scott Walker, and Andrew P. Napolitano, a Fox News host and former New Jersey Supreme Court judge. A full list of attendees is not available for this meeting.

Donors highlighted at Vail summit

Audio of the 2011 Vail summit leaked to Mother Jones included recordings of speeches in which Charles and David Koch "name some of the "great partners" who have contributed millions of dollars to their causes." As reported by Mother Jones, the following people were acknowledged at the summit for donating at least $1 million to Koch-approved causes:

Major Donors

Name(s)	Organization
John Childs	CEO, JW Childs Associates
Dean and Joan Cortopassi
Joseph Craft	Alliance Resource Partners
Rich DeVos and Helen DeVos	Amway, Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation
Dick Farmer	Cintas Corporation
Foster Friess	Friess Associates
Jerry Fullinwider and Leah Fullinwider	Hillwood International Energy
Richard Gilliam and Leslie Gilliam	Cumberland Resources Corporation and Endurance Gold
Ken Griffin and Anne Dias Griffin	Citadel and Aragon Global Management
Richard Haworth and Ethie Haworth	Haworth
Diane Hendricks	ABC Supply roofing company
Ethelmae Humphreys	Tamco Building Products, Cato Institute
Kenneth Levy and Frayda Levin	Jacobs Levy equity management, Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, Motion Picture Institute
Elaine Marshall, widow of E. Pierce Marshall	Family ties to Koch Industries
Art Pope	Americans for Prosperity
Corbin Robertson	Natural Resource Partners
Karen Wright	Ariel Foundation, Ariel Corporation, American Petroleum Institute
Tom Rastin	Ariel Foundation, Ariel Corporation
Services Group of America
Ron Cameron	Mountaire Corporation
Harold Hamm	Continental Resources
Jerry Hayden and Marilyn Hayden	Peacock Engineering
Virginia James	major donor to Club for Growth
John Menard	Menards
John Moran	Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, Republican National Finance Committee
Charles Schwab	Charles Schwab Corporation
Paul Singer	Elliott Management
John Templeton, Jr. and Josephine Templeton	John Templeton Foundation

January 2011, Rancho Mirage, California

According to Politico, the January 2011 summit "raised a reported $49 million in pledged donations" to groups like Americans for Prosperity. A full list of attendees is not available for this meeting. Koch Industries promised to match all attendees' donations at the Rancho Mirage meetings.

June 2010, Aspen, Colorado

The June 2010 meeting of the Koch network was held June 27-28 in Aspen, Colorado. The list of attendees below is based on a memo obtained by ThinkProgress that included a schedule and attendee list for the Aspen summit. Koch Industries promised to match all attendees' donations at the Aspen meetings.

List of Attendees

Note: the geographic locations provided below may contain inaccuracies.

The June 2010 Koch strategy meeting attendees were:

Attendees

Name(s)	Industry	Notes
Jack Anderson and Rose Marie Anderson	Finance	Culver Corporation, Rose-Marie and Jack R. Anderson Foundation - Financial Advisor
Neil Anderson and Amy Fisher-Smith		Runs Rose-Marie and Jack R. Anderson Foundation
Phil Anschutz and Nancy Anschutz	Investment	Industrialist, Owner, Weekly Standard , Examiner newspapers; Denver, CO
Cliff Asness	Investment	AQR Capital Management
Nate Bachman and Lynda Bachman	Finance	The Bachman Group, Cincinnati OH - Financial Advisor
Whitney Ball	Think Tank	Owner of DonorsTrust, a firm that enables anonymous gifts to front groups
Frank Baxter and Kathy Baxter	Banking	Ambassador Frank E. Baxter is Chairman Emeritus of NYC-based Jefferies and Company , Inc., a global investment bank focusing on mid-cap companies. Overseer, Hoover Institution. Los Angeles CA
Steve Bechtel and Betty Bechtel	Engineering	Owns the Bechtel Group (Corporation), Largest engineering company in United States
E. Bernard Blasingame and Margaret Blasingame	Manufacturing	President and owner of Aqua Dynamics Systems (water purification), Adamsville, TN
Alan Boeckmann and Lisa Boeckmann	Oil/Engineering/Construction	CEO Fluor Corporation, Orange County, CA
Boysie Bollinger	Shipping/Commerce	Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana and Texas (builds vessels for Coast Guard)
Patrick Broe and Paula Broe	Real Estate	Founder and CEO of Denver-based real estate asset management firm, The Broe Group
David Brown and Ann Brown	Think Tank, funder	Heritage Foundation, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Bob Buford and Martha Buford	Oil	C. Robert Buford has been President and owner of Zenith Drilling Corporation, Wichita, KS
Tim Busch		Likely Irvine-based Timothy R. Busch, Pacific Hospitality Group CEO, Catholic University of America trustee, Legatus[1] (Catholic CEOs, Orange County & Napa chapters)
Shelby Bush and Nell Bush	Energy	Vice President, Legal and Administration – Hillwood Energy (a Perot company)
Charlies Chandler and Marla Chandler		Likely Charles Q. Chandler IV of Wichita KS-based Intrust Bank
John Childs	Investment	Chairman and CEO of J.W. Childs and Associates, Boston MA
Paul Clifton and Lea Clifton		Runs Robert and Marie Hansen Family Foundation
Susie Coelhoe	Media	founder and CEO of Susie Coelho Enterprises Inc.
Bill Cooper and Kristin Tollefson	Finance/Banking	CEO of TCF Financial, Wayzata MI
Dino Cortopassi and Joan Cortopassi		Stockton businessman
Joe Craft	Coal	Joseph W. Craft III is president, chief executive officer and director of Tulsa OK-based Alliance Resource Partners LP
Alex Cranberg	Energy	Denver-based Aspect Holdings , LLC – Chairman; University of Texas regent
Eric Crown and Isabella King	Finance (venture capital)	Retired CEO, Insight Enterprises, Phoenix AZ
Kevin Crutchfield	Coal	Kevin S. Crutchfield serves as Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Coal Sales Co., LLC, Latrobe PA near Pittsburgh
Ravenell Curry and Beth Curry		Likely Manhattan Institute trustee Ravenel Curry III.
Jim Dannenbaum and Shirley Dannenbaum	Engineering	Mr. Dannenbaum, Chairman of Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation, Houston, TX
Rich DeVos and Helen DeVos	Business	Founder and CEO of Amway, near Grand Rapids, Michigan
Ned Diefenthal and Nancy Diefenthal		Metairie, LA-based former owner of Southern Recycling
Jim Patterson and Dorothy Patterson	Oil	Gulf Stream Petroleum
Dan Peters and Kellie Peters	Non-for Profit	Daniel S. Peters is president of the Ruth and Lovett Peters Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio
Tom Petrie	Banking	Co-founder of BofA Merrill Lynch Petrie Divestiture Advisors
Dixon Doll and Carol Doll	Technology	Co-Founder and General Partner of Menlo Park CA-based Doll Capital Management(DCM)
Karl Eller and Stevie Eller	Advertising	The Eller Company billboards
Ron Erickson and Kris Erickson	Retail	Ronald A. Erickson is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Holiday Companies
Melvyn Estrin and Suellen Estrin	Natural Gas	Director of WGL Holdings INC
Dick Farmer		Richard T. "Dick" Farmer is chairman of Cintas
Peter Farrell	Biomed	Founder of Resmed
Jim Ferrell and Zibbie Ferrell	Fuel Oil	Ferrellgas Partners , L.P. engages in the distribution and sale of propane and related equipment primarily in the United States.
Dave Fettig	Natural Gas	Tank Craft, Duracraft Fuel energy
Bob Fettig	Natural Gas	Tank Craft, Duracraft Fuel energy
Steve Fettig	Natural Gas	Tank Craft, Duracraft Fuel energy
Jerry Finger and Nanette Finger	Investment management	Managing Partner, Finger Interests LTD, Houston TX
Budd Florkiewicz and Lauri Florkiewicz	Manufacturing	Foam Fabricators, Scottsdale, AZ
Charlie Fote and Kaye Lynn Fote	Finance	Founder and CEO, Fotec Group LLC, Denver, CO
Randy Foutch and Jean Foutch	Oil	Chairman and CEO, Laredo Petroleum , Inc., Tulsa, OK
Foster Friess	Investment	Mr. Foster Stephen Friess is the Founder and Chairman of Friess Associates , LLC; was Executive Committee member for the far right Council for National Policy[2]
Steve Friess and Polly Friess		Son and daughter-in-law of Foster Friess
Jerry Fullinwider and Leah Fullinwider	Energy/Petroleum	Vice Chairman, Hillwood International Energy, a Perot company (Ross Perot Jr. is Chairman) (in Texas, Kurdistan, Moscow, Amman)
Richard Gilliam and Leslie Gilliam	Coal	Richard Gilliam has been President of Norton, VA-based Cumberland Resources Corporation since 1993.
Susan Gore	Think Tank	Founder, Wyoming Liberty Group; her "multibillion dollar family company W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. developed the high performance fabric Gore-Tex... Her brother, David Gore, co-founded a similar think tank organization in Oregon called the Cascade Policy Institute in 1991"
Oliver Jr. and Carolyn Grace Jr.	Med and Telecom	President and chief executive officer of Anderson Group , Inc.,
Judson Green and Joyce Green	Energy and Med	Mr. Judson C. Green is the President and Chief Executive Officer of NAVTEQ Corp.
Ken Griffin and Anne Griffin	Investment Banking	Founder and CEO of Chicago-based Citadel Investment Group
Fred Hamilton and Jane Hamilton	Oil	Mr. Frederic C. Hamilton served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of BHP Petroleum , Hamilton Oil Company and various Hamilton Oil Corporation subsidiaries and affiliates (Denver-based)
Bob Hawk and Mary Sue Hawk	Telecommunications, venture capital	President of Hawk Communications (also Venture Partner at Doll Capital Management (DCM); "director of Covad Communications , Centillium Communications, and several private high-technology companies."
Dick Haworth and Ethie Haworth	Retail	Head of Holland, MI-based Haworth Furniture , Multi-national corporation, 3rd largest corporate furniture company in US
Robin Hayes and Barbara Hayes	Government	Former North Carolina Congressman
Dan Heard and Carolyn Heard	Manufacturing	Executive Officer of Louisiana-based John H. Carter Co.,
Diane Hendricks	Manufacturing	Husband of the late Ken Hendricks (ABC Supply Co., building materials)
Steve Hennessy and Regina Hennessy	Auto Sales	Auto Sales, Atlanta, GA
James Higgins and Heather Higgins	Think Tank	James Higgins is a fellow and trustee of the Claremont Institute, and a principal at NY-based investment mgmt firm New Vernon Capital LLC; Heather Higgins is president and CEO of Independent Women's Voice, the 501(c)(4) sister organization of the Independent Women’s Forum
Paul Hill	Oil	Paul J. Hill serves as CEO and has been President of Harvard Developments Inc. since 1978; CEO and President of The Hill Companies; Regina, Saskatchewan
John Hotchkis and Joan Hotchkis	Education, Finance	Board of Directors for Teach for America UC Berkeley; Ramajal LLC, Hotchkis and Wiley
Allan Hubbard and Kathy Hubbard	Chemicals and Manufacturing	Founder and Chief Executive Officer, E & A Industries, Inc., Indianapolis, IN
Stan Hubbard and Karen Hubbard	Communications	Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, St. Paul, MI-based Hubbard Broadcasting , Inc.
Ethelmae Humphreys	Think Tank	Cato Institute
Manley Johnson and Mary Johnson	Political Consultant	Manuel H. "Manley" Johnson served as the vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the mid-1980s. Co-chairman and senior partner at DC-based financial market advisory firm Johnson Smick International
Merritt Johnson
Gerry O’Shaughnessy and Priscilla O’Shaughnessy	Oil	Gerald Eugene O’Shaughnessy Co-founded Geopark Holding Limited in 2002; Wichita, KS
Michael O’Shaughnessy	Technology	Petters Consumer Brands , LLC develops consumer electronics and appliances.
Tim O’Shaughnessy	Media	Hungry Machine , Inc., doing business as LivingSocial.com, is a social discovery and cataloging network.
Marshall Johnson
Kyle Johnstone and Kirsten Johnstone
Mike Kasser and Beth Kasser	Real Estate	President, Holualoa Inc
Ken Kendrick and Randy Kendrick	Education/Technology	Chairman, Datatel
Phil Kerpen and Joanna Kerpen	Advocacy Group/Think Tank	VP of Policy, Americans for Prosperity
Gerry Kingen and Kathryn Kingen	Restauranteur	Red Robin, Happy Guests International, Seattle WA
Scott Kirkpatrick	Investor	Owner/Partner of Jackson, WY-based Teton Capital Advisors
Charles Koch and Liz Koch	Koch Industries
Chase Koch and Annie Koch	Koch Industries
David Koch and Julia Koch	Koch Industries
Elizabeth Koch	Koch Industries
Bob Koch and Cindy Koch	Koch Industries
Bob Kohlhepp	Manufacturing/Services	Vice Chairman, Cintas Corp.
Dennis Kuester	Banking, Paper	Dennis J. Kuester, retired CEO of Marshall & Ilsley Bank (M&I) in Milwaukee, WI; director of Wausau Paper
Andrew Kupersmith	Consultant	MD, Cardiology Consultants
Andre Lacy	Investment	Chairman, Lacy Diversified Industries, Indianapolis IN; board member, Patterson Companies(vet,dental,rehab)
Ken Langone and Elaine Langone	Retail	Invemed, Home Depot
Jay Lapeyre and Sally Lapeyre	Services	Laitram Corp
Ken Levy and Frayda Levy	Investment	JLM Investment Mgmt
Tom Love	Retail	CEO, President, Love’s Country Stores
Bob Luddy	Manufacturing	President, Captive Aire Systems
Fred Malek and Marlene Malek	Investment Management	Thayer Capital Partners
Elaine Marshall		Homemaker
Pierce Marshall	Administrative Management	MAROPCO
Preston Marshall
Bill Mayer	Health Care	MD, Mayer & Cope Family Practice, NY
Glen Meakem and Diane Meakem	Business Solutions	CEO, Freemarkets Inc.
Ed Meese	Think Tank	Heritage Foundation
Lew Meibergen and Suzy Meibergen	Goods/Services	President, Johnston Enterprises/WG Johnston Grain Co
Don Meyers and Deede Meyers	Attorney	Self Employed
Jerry Milbank and Caroline Milbank	Investment Management	CEO/Principal, Milbank Winthrop & Co.
Jack Miller and Goldie Miller	Retail	CEO/President, Quill Corp.
Mark Mix	Advocacy Group	President, National Right to Work Committee
Joe Moeller and Mary Moeller	Koch Industries	Vice Chairman
David Murfin	Energy	President, Murfin Drilling Co.
Walter Negley and Suzette Negley		Director of the Brown Foundation (from George Brown of Houston's Brown & Root construction)
Kurt Pfotenhauer and Nancy Pfotenhauer	Media	President of MediaSpeak Strategies/former political commentator on Fox News , CNN and MSNBC and former Senior Policy Advisor and National Spokesperson with the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign
Art Pope and Kathy Pope	Goods/Services	Senior Exec, Variety Wholesaler; board member, Americans for Prosperity and John Locke Foundation; Pope Foundation
Corbin Robertson and Barbara Robertson	Energy	Coal baron; President, Quintana Minerals Corp and Natural Resource Partners; director of global warming inaction front groups (& media campaign) CO2 Is Green and Plants Need CO2
Richard Roder and Karin Hsu	Construction Management	CEO, Cmt-Construction Management, Addison TX
Gary Rogers and Kathleen Rogers	Goods	Former CEO, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream
Durk Rorie	Manufacturing	United Air Specialists air purification systems, Cincinnati
Chris Rufer	Goods/Manufacturing	Morningstar Company (harvests, processes, cans, and ships most California tomatoes.)
Peter Schiff and Martha O’Brien	Investor	Schiff : Euro Pacific Capital Inc. (son of Irwin Schiff of the United States tax protester movement)
Steve Schwarzman and Christine Schwarzman	Financial Services	CEO/founder, Blackstone Group
Rick Sharp and Sherry Sharp	Retail	Former CEO, Circuit City
Mike Simmonds and Lin Simmonds	Services	CEO, Simmonds Restaurant Mgm
Peter Smith	Services	CEO, Services Group of America, Scottsdale AZ
Dick Strong	Investment Services	Strong/Corneliuson Capital Mgmt
Ray Thompson and Ladeline Thompson	Manufacturing	President/CEO, Semitool; Raymon F. Thompson owns the airplane that Tea Party Patriots Jenny-Beth Martin and Mark Meckler flew in to rallies, in 2010
Lynn Tilton	Investment Management	CEO, Patriarch Partners LLC
Dave True and Melanie True	Oil	Partner, True Oil, LLC
Steve Twist	Services	VP and General Counsel for Services Group of America, Scottsdale, AZ
Jim Ehr and Gayla Von Ehr	Research/Development	CEO, Zyvex Corp
Rick Waller and Debra Waller	Manufacturing	Rick Waller owns Rollmeister Inc in Neenah, WI, serving the paper industry; Debra Waller is CEO of Wisconsin-based underwear maker Jockey International, and spent five years on the Board of Directors for Marshall & Ilsley Bank in Milwaukee, WI
Bill Walton and Sarah Walton	Real Estate	Allied Capital Corp
Lew Ward and Myra Ward	Oil	Ward Petroleum Corporation owns and operates wells. It engages in oil and gas exploration and production. The company was founded in 1963 and is based in Enid, Oklahoma.
Dick Weekley	Real Estate	Weekley Properties; chairman, Texans for Lawsuit Reform
Fred Wehba and Susie Wehba	Real Estate	LA-based private real estate investment firm BentleyForbes
Nestor Weigand and Darcy Buehler	Real Estate	JP Weigand & Sons Real Estate, Wichita, KS
Dick Weiss and Mary Beth Weiss	Investment?	Wells Fargo and Hawthorne Ranch, near Chicago IL
Howard Wilkins and Rhonda Wilkins	(??) Insurance	C. Howard Wilkins Jr. founded Maverick Development Corporation (restaurant management), Wichita KS [3]; earlier, Pizza Hut, and ambassador to Netherlands  ?? Diversified Insurance
Don Wills and Sue Wills	Oil, Banking	Partner in Wills Oil Company and Adams-Wills Oil Company, Texas
Larry Winnerman and Lorraine Winnerman	Real Estate	Win Win Enterprises, Aspen CO
Joe Woodford	Manufacturing	Woodford Manufacturing, Woodford Foundation, Colorado Springs
Earl Wright	Finance	AMG National Trust, Alliance for Choice and Education (ACE) trustee, Colorado
Karen Wright and Tom Rastin	Energy/Manufacturing	Tom Rastin, vice president of marketing and engineering, Ariel Corp (natural gas compressors, Ohio) – Karen Wright, Ariel CEO
Cliff Yonce and Susan Yonce	Investment Banking	Goldman Sachs
Fred Young and Sandra Young	Manufacturing	Fred Young Jr., Former Owner, Young Radiator Company of Racine, WI ; Cato Institute board member, trustee of the Reason Foundation

List of Presenters

The follow participants were listed as presenters in the Aspen program.

Presenters

Name(s)	Industry	Notes
Michael Barone	Media	Fox News
Glenn Beck	Media	Fox News
Arthur Brooks	Think Tank	President, American Enterprise Institute
John Bryan
Tim Carney	Media	Political Columnist, Washington Examiner
David Chavern	Lobbyist	Executive Vice President and COO at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jeff Crank	Americans For Prosperity / Radio Pundit	AFP State Director
Karl Crow	Policy Analyst	Capital Research Center, Washington DC; Themis
Veronique de Rugy	Think Tank	Senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center
Annie Dickerson	Real Estate/Finance	CB Richard Ellis analyst
Richard Fink	Koch Industries	Director of Georgia-Pacific , EVP of Koch Industries
Gretchen Hamel	Communications	Head of 501(c)(4) Public Notice, founder of PR firm Endeavour Global Strategies; former press assistant for J.C. Watts of Oklahoma
Phil Kerpen	Advocacy Group/Think Tank	VP of Policy, Americans for Prosperity
Charles Krauthammer
Jerry Milbank	Investment Management	CEO/Principal, Milbank Winthrop & Co.
Mark Mix	Advocacy Group	President, National Right to Work Committee
Steve Moore	Media	member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board
Mina Nguyen
Larry Nichols and Polly Nichols	Energy	Executive Chairman, Devon Energy Corp
Sean Noble	Political consulting	Americans for Prosperity Noble Associates (specializing in Campaign Management, Crisis Communications, Developing the Message, Grassroots Development & Deployment...), Phoenix AZ; Koch-supported Americans for Limited Government
Tim Oelke and Teresa Oelke	Advocacy Group/Construction	Teresa – State Director of Americans for Prosperity , Tim – Crossland Construction Corp
Eric O’Keefe	Front Group	Sam Adams Alliance
Nancy Pfotenhauer	Media	President of MediaSpeak Strategies/former political commentator on Fox News , CNN and MSNBC and former Senior Policy Advisor and National Spokesperson with the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign
Tim Phillips	Advocacy Group	president, Americans for Prosperity
Ramesh Ponnuru	Media	Columnist, National Review (magazine)
Russ Roberts	Economist	George Mason University economics professor
Peter Schiff	Investor	Schiff : Euro Pacific Capital Inc. (son of Irwin Schiff of the United States tax protester movement)
Michael Sullivan	Investment Services (???)	CR Intrinsic Investors or not; since a "Michael Quinn Sullivan is president and CEO of Empower Texans, and its premier project, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility."
Peter Wallison	Think Tank	Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Bill Walton	Real Estate	Allied Capital Corp

Earlier Summits - Politicians, Supreme Court Justices, and Other Attendees

Charles Koch's invitation letter to the January 2011 summit also noted that previous guests have included politicians and Supreme Court justices. The politicians included Governors Haley Barbour and Bobby Jindal; Senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn and Representatives Mike Pence, Tom Price and Paul Ryan.

Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have attended these events. According to Salon, "Thomas claimed he just made "a brief drop-by" at the Koch brothers' January 2008 Palm Springs political retreat to give a talk; in fact he was reimbursed for four days of “transportation, meals and accommodations” by the Federalist Society. The attendance of Thomas and Scalia has sparked debate over judicial ethics and the 2010 Citizens United decision. Common Cause filed a petition with the Justice Department in January 2011 alleging a conflict of interest for these Justices, as David and Charles Koch operate foundations that contribute to political groups, which might benefit from relaxed campaign finance rules. Common Cause has also noted that the Cato Institute, which Charles Koch founded, filed an amicus brief in Citizens United opposing campaign finance. The Center for Competitive Politics also filed a brief in the case; the Center is headed by Bradley Smith, who is affiliated with the Institute for Humane Studies where Charles Koch is Chair of the board and funder.

Ken Yontz, former chair and CEO of Sybron International, wrote that he has attended Koch seminars since 2005 in a 2015 op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Koch Brothers
• Koch Family Foundations
• Americans for Prosperity
• Freedom Partners
• Cato Institute
• Heritage Foundation
• Koch Universities
• Koch Network
• Knowledge and Progress Fund
• American Encore
• DonorsTrust
• Donors Capital
• 60 Plus
• Generation Opportunity
• Koch Event 2010-06 Attendees
• Corbin Robertson
• Plants Need CO2
• Natural Resource Partners

External Resources

• Charles Koch (2010-09-24). Koch letter of invitation to Jan. 2011 meeting in Rancho Mirage, CA. Koch Industries (posted on ThinkProgress). Retrieved on 2010-10-02.

External Articles

• Lee Fang (2010-10-20). MEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election. ThinkProgress. Retrieved on 2010-10-31.