Koch Industries

Koch Industries is the largest privately held company in America, and that privacy is by design. By refusing to go public, the Koch family avoids the financial disclosures that public companies must make, keeping their political spending and business dealings shielded from investor scrutiny. With $125 billion in annual revenue spanning petroleum refining (Flint Hills Resources), chemicals (INVISTA, Koch Fertilizer), paper products (Georgia-Pacific), and financial trading (Koch Capital), Koch Industries is regulated by virtually every major federal agency — energy, environment, labor, trade, and tax policy — giving the family an enormous financial incentive to shape government. The Koch political network is the most sophisticated and sustained corporate political operation in American history. Since 2000, the network has spent over $2 billion on politics through an interlocking web of nonprofits, PACs, and advocacy organizations. Americans for Prosperity, the network's flagship 501(c)(4), operates paid organizing operations in 35+ states, functioning as a shadow political party. The network's donor summits, held twice annually at luxury resorts, bring together roughly 700 wealthy donors who collectively pledge hundreds of millions per cycle. The revolving door between Koch Industries and government is extensive. Mike Pompeo, a congressman from Koch's home district of Wichita who received more Koch money than any other politician, became CIA Director and then Secretary of State. Marc Short moved from the Koch network's Freedom Partners to become Trump's White House Legislative Affairs Director — literally the person managing Congress for the President. Multiple Koch-connected individuals were placed at the EPA during Trump's first term, where they systematically rolled back environmental regulations that directly affected Koch's refining and chemical operations. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act represents Koch's most spectacular return on political investment. The Koch network spent approximately $20 million lobbying for the bill, which included provisions estimated to save Koch Industries $1–1.4 billion annually through the corporate rate cut, pass-through deduction, and estate tax changes. That's a 70:1 return on lobbying investment — every year, in perpetuity. The Koch network held a donor summit shortly after passage where Charles Koch reportedly told donors their $20 million investment had been "the best investment" they'd ever made. Koch Industries has been ranked among the top 10 toxic air polluters in America by the Political Economy Research Institute. The company has paid hundreds of millions in environmental fines, including a $30 million penalty in 2000 for illegally discharging aviation fuel and other pollutants. Despite this record, Koch-funded think tanks — the Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, and Heartland Institute — have spent decades casting doubt on climate science, creating an intellectual infrastructure that has successfully delayed climate legislation for over two decades. The Koch network secretly funded the Tea Party movement in 2009-2010, astroturfing what appeared to be grassroots opposition to Obama-era climate and healthcare legislation. Chris Wright, appointed as Trump's Energy Secretary in 2025, is a Koch donor and fossil fuel executive who has publicly called climate change concerns overblown.