David Koch, billionaire conservative donor, dies at 79

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Koch — whose financial support for conservative causes transformed him and his brother, Charles, into major figures in the Republican Party and into deep-pocketed bogeymen to national Democrats — has died at 79. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my brother David. Anyone who worked with David surely experienced his giant personality and passion for life,” Charles Koch, the 83-year-old the chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, said in a statement. David Koch retired in 2018 as executive vice president of Koch Industries and stepped down as chairman of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the Koch network’s charity arm, citing health problems. His brother, Charles Koch, currently helms the Koch company and political organization. Born May 3, 1940, David was the third of four brothers born to Fred and Mary Koch, his twin brother William having been born minutes after him. His father founded Koch Industries, and David Koch grew up to work as an engineer and manager at the company, which is now one of the largest privately held companies in America. Forbes estimated David Koch’s wealth at $50.5 billion earlier this year. In the late 1970s, David Koch made his mark on the burgeoning libertarian movement in a way that foreshadowed his future in politics, opening his wallet as he secured the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential nomination in 1979, alongside Ed Clark, the party’s presidential nominee. Koch — who had had little public involvement in politics up to that point — pledged to take advantage of a rarely used loophole that would allow him to pour unlimited amounts of his own money into the race, and he took his spot on the ticket in a landslide at the Libertarian nominating convention. He would eventually spend $2 million on the 1980 presidential campaign, in which he and Clark won 1 percent of the popular vote. In the decades that followed, Charles and David Koch built a broader conservative movement, pouring money into think thanks, academic institutions and eventually their own political network of like-minded donors and operatives. The network grew to such magnitude that it eventually resembled a private political party in size and scope. Koch groups hired hundreds of on-the-ground canvassers and operatives to help bolster the Tea Party movement in the years following President Barack Obama’s election. Democratic lawmakers, candidates and party officials condemned the Koch brothers as insidious examples of corporate power shaping American politics in the post-Citizens United era, calling for their influence to be curbed through campaign finance reform measures. Former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid made the Kochs a near-daily talking point on the Senate floor, calling the brothers “shadowy billionaires” who wanted to “rig the system” to their benefit. The Koch network’s spending ramped up to the point where it could pledge to spend $400 million on politics and advocacy in a single election, as it did in the 2018 midterms. But since the election of President Donald Trump — who did not get the Kochs’ support — the Koch network has pulled back from hot-button political involvement, instead focusing more on policy and philanthropy. In 1991, David Koch was involved in a plane crash that killed 35 people at Los Angeles International Airport. He survived, and cited the incident as a catalyst for years of involvement in philanthropy. Koch has pledged or given $1.3 billion to philanthropic causes, according to Koch Industries, including a major gift to renovate Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, where a theater now bears his name. The year after the plane crash, Koch was diagnosed with prostate cancer, another health struggle that came to define his life. “David liked to say that a combination of brilliant doctors, state-of-the-art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay. We can all be grateful that it did, because he was able to touch so many more lives as a result,” Charles Koch said. David Koch made cancer research a major cause for his philanthropy in the years since. David Koch is survived by his three children and his wife, Julia Koch. Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine Source: https://ift.tt/31ZP1Ln Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you. The Article Was Written/Published By: mseverns@politico.com (Maggie Severns) ! #Headlines, #People, #Political, #Politico, #politics, #RIP, #Trending, #Newsfeed, #syndicated, news https://ift.tt/2TYCK7l
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