(BUSINESS) Wichita, Kansas-based conglomerate; pronounced "coke." A closely held corporation; owns Flint Hills Resources, a major refinery operator.
One of the most secretive business enterprises in the Western world. The financial press is not allowed to publish any financial statistics on the firm whatever (unlike, say, Bechtel or Fidelity Investments, whose financials appear in Hoovers listings). Basically, it converts oil wealth into political influene through a huge web of "foundations."
Koch Industries operates enormous oil refineries in Alaska, Minnesota, and Texas; owns 4000 miles of pipeline; Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra (fiber used to make Spandex).
Koch Family Foundations funnel immense amount of money to climate change denial groups, although they manage to remain secretive about that also. Both David and Charles Koch have assets easily in excess of $8 billion, and they are the largest political donors of the oil and gas industry. Mostly their "charitable foundations" promote far-right propaganda.
In the spring of 2010, University of Massachusetts at Amherstβs Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States.
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (formerly Citizens for a Sound Economy) and the Cato Institute are creations of the Koch Family Foundations.
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Known for funding many of the recent tea parties, the Koch Industries are a billion-dollar set of industries owned by the Koch family. They fund far right-wing causes and think-tanks with their billions all under the illusion that these are part of some grassroots movement.
The Koch Industries funded the tea party rally taking place in my town.
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