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{{#badges: Koch Exposed | AEX }} [[Image:C&DKoch.jpg|frame|The billionaire Koch brothers: Charles (L) and David (R)]]
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'''Charles G. Koch''' is one of the billionaire brothers who co-own [[Koch Industries]], one of the largest privately-held companies in the world.<ref>Forbes.com [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/21/private-companies-09_Koch-Industries_VMZQ.html America's Largest Private Companies- Koch Industries], accessed July 2, 2014.</ref> The ''New Yorker'' has described Charles Koch and his brother [[David Koch]] as "longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation."<ref name="mayer">Jane Mayer, "[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all Covert Operations]," ''New Yorker'', August 30, 2010. Accessed July 2, 2014.</ref> The Kochs have built and bankrolled a powerful network of foundations, think tanks, and politically active organizations that try to influence elections and policy.
Charles Koch (b. 1935) and David Koch (b. 1940) are two of the four children of [[Fred Koch]] and Mary Koch. Fred Koch founded Wood River Oil and Refining Co. in 1940; it had been renamed Rock Island Oil & Refining Co. by 1961 and was renamed [[Koch Industries]] by Charles Koch in 1967.<ref>Fred and Mary Koch Foundation, [http://www.fmkfoundation.org/history.asp History], organizational website, accessed June 30, 2014.</ref> Fred Koch was also a founder and executive committee member of the far-right [[John Birch Society]], known for opposing the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and communism.<ref name="koch cartel">Lisa Graves, "The Koch Cartel: Their Reach, Their Reactionary Agenda, and Their Record," ''The Progressive'', July/August 2014.</ref>
The senior Koch's views are thought to have influenced the Koch brothers' pro-business, anti-union agenda. Lisa Graves noted that "The Kochs' mistrust of public education can be traced to their father, Fred, who declared that the National Education Association was a communist group and public-school books were filled with “communist propaganda,” paranoia that extended to all unions, President Eisenhower and the “pro-communist” Supreme Court."<ref name="graves">Lisa Graves, "[http://www.thenation.com/article/161973/alec-exposed-koch-connection ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection]," ''The Nation'', July 2012, 2011. Accessed June 2, 2014.</ref> Echoing this anti-union fervor, David Koch has stated that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's attack on public unions was “critically important."<ref>Mary Bottari, "[httphttps://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/02/11308/anniversary-prank-call-real-david-koch-wants-stop-union-power-wisconsin On Anniversary of Prank Call the Real David Koch Wants to "Stop Union Power" in Wisconsin]," PR Watch, February 21, 2012.</ref>
He also accused President Barack Obama of being "a hardcore socialist."<ref>Sarah Owen, "[http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2011/05/billionaire_conservative_david.html David Koch Gives President Obama Zero Credit for Bin Laden’s Death]," New York Magazine, May 5, 2011.</ref>
Today the brothers directly and indirectly fund a wide network of organizations that promote their "free enterprise philosophy," from think tanks to scholarship programs to policy advocacy groups. Recipients include a long list of academic institutions; [[Koch family foundations]] gave some $30.5 million to 221 colleges and universities from 2007 to 2012.<ref name="nytimes"/>
Charles Koch co-founded the Institute for Humane Studies of Texas, which was renamed the [[Institute for Energy Research]].<ref>Lee Fang, [http://republicreport.org/2014/charles-koch-personally-founded-group-protecting-oil-industry-hand-outs-documents-reveal/ "Charles Koch Personally Founded Group Protecting Oil Industry Hand-Outs, Documents Reveal"], Republic Report, August 29, 2014. </ref>
'''Access a list of organizations with ties to the Koch brothers here:'''
The [[Center to Protect Patient Rights]], a group run by Koch operative [[Sean Noble]], was fined by the California state elections board for [[Center_to_Protect_Patient_Rights#.22Campaign_Money_Laundering.22_Investigation|violating campaign finance disclosure laws]] as part of a campaign to prohibit "unions from using automatic payroll deductions to raise money for political campaigns."<ref>Nicholas Confessore, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/us/politics/group-linked-to-kochs-admits-to-campaign-finance-violations.html Group Linked to Kochs Admits to Campaign Finance Violations]," New York Times, October 24, 2013. Accessed June 30, 2014.</ref>
Other "dark money" groups involved in the network included funding sources [[Freedom Partners]] and the [[TC4 Trust]], CSE successor [[Americans for Prosperity]], and a long list of [[Koch astroturf]] organizations like the [[60 Plus Association]], [[Generation Opportunity]], [[American Commitment]], [[Concerned Women for America]], the [[The_Libre_Initiative|Libre Initiative]], and [[Public Notice]].<ref>Al Shaw, Theodoric Meyer and Kim Barker, "[http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/koch How Dark Money Flows Through the Koch Network]," ''ProPublica'', February 14, 2014. Accessed June 30, 2014.</ref> Additional funding went to the [[Wisconsin Club for Growth]], and from there to [[Citizens for a Strong America]], both of which were later involved in a criminal investigation related to the 2012 election.<ref>Brendan Fischer, "[httphttps://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12309/new-john-doe-investigation-probes-dark-money-wisconsin-recall-elections-club WI Club for Growth, Target of Walker Recall Probe, at Center of Dark Money Web]", Center for Media and Democracy, November 18, 2013. Accessed June 30, 2014.</ref>
===Involvement in Scott Walker Race and Recall Election in 2010===
Walker's gubernatorial campaign received $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC during the 2010 election. The Koch PAC gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker.<ref>Lisa Graves, "[httphttps://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/02/9964/cmd-special-report-scott-walker-runs-koch-money A CMD Special Report: Scott Walker Runs on Koch Money]," Center for Media and Democracy, February 18, 2011. Accessed July 7, 2014.</ref> The RGA also spent $3.4 million on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker's opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. <ref>Andy Kroll, "[http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/wisconsin-scott-walker-koch-brothers Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros.]," ''Mother Jones'', February 18, 2011. Accessed July 7, 2014.</ref>
In a February 2012 interview with the ''Palm Beach Post'', [[David Koch]] admitted that he was helping fund Wisconsin Gov. [[Scott Walker]] as Walker fought off a recall election sparked by his anti-union legislation.<ref name="singer">Stacy Singer, [http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/david-koch-intends-to-cure-cancer-in-his-2185046.html David Koch intends to cure cancer in his lifetime and remake American politics], ''[http://www.palmbeachpost.com Palm Beach Post]'', February 18, 2012.</ref> The paper reported that Koch acknowledged his group, [[Americans for Prosperity]], was "hard at work in places such as Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker is facing off with public unions and grappling with a likely recall."<ref name="singer"/>
