![]() ![]() Fred Koch, a co-founder of the far-right John Birch Society, assembled his own mini-empire of ranches, factories and oil pipelines. ![]() ![]() They got a sizable head start from their father. To be sure, the Koch brothers aren't entirely self-made. What Kochland, the new book from Christopher Leonard, adds to the story is not so much an account of the ways in which the brothers spend their money, but rather, a richly reported tale of how they make it - the inner workings of one of the nation's largest private corporations. Jane Mayer's 2010 New Yorker article and subsequent book shined a bright spotlight on how the Kochs and other wealthy patrons use their Dark Money to wield outsize influence on American politics. None of this is exactly a secret, though. They've used their vast wealth to build a hydra-headed network of think tanks, lobbying shops, and "astroturf" advocacy groups to advance a philosophy that conveniently overlaps with the economic interests of their Wichita-based corporation. The Koch brothers are a ripe target: political plutocrats who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in a decades-long effort to reshape the country and the Republican Party. ![]() Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Kochland Subtitle The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America Author Christopher Leonard ![]()
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