.
. >>> TIME NOW FOR "MONEY, POWER,
POLITICS."
POLITICS." IN THE 2018 ELECTION CYCLE
CONSERVATIVE BILLIONAIRES
CONSERVATIVE BILLIONAIRES CHARLES AND DAVID KOCH SPENT
ALMOST $400 MILLION BUCKS WITH
$20 MILLION DEDICATED TO MAKING
SURE THE TAX CUTS PASSED.
THERE ARE FEW INDIVIDUALS WITH
MORE INFLUENCE IN BUSINESS AND
POLITICS THAN THESE TWO BROTHERS
ON YOUR SCREEN.
THEY OWN ROUGHLY 80% OF KOCH
INDUSTRIES.
INDUSTRIES. NOW, WE HEAR ABOUT THEIR
POLITICAL DONATIONS AND THEIR
LOBBYING EFFORTS AGAINST CLIMATE
CHANGE INITIATIVES BUT RARELY
HEAR ABOUT HOW THIS FAMILY GOT
SO POWERFUL.
SO POWERFUL. IN THE NEW BOOK "KOCHLAND"
KRISTOFFER LEONARD DESCRIBES HOW
CHARLES KOCH TURNED THIS COMPANY
INTO A $110 BILLION EMPIRE AND
HAVE INFILTRATED JUST ABOUT
EVERY THREAD OF AMERICAN LIFE.
I’LL SHARE THIS QUOTE.
THE COMPANY IS EMBEDDED IN THE
HIDDEN INFRASTRUCTURE OF EVERY
DAY LIFE.
DAY LIFE. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE USE KOCH
PRODUCTS WITHOUT EVER SEEING
KOCH’S NAME ATTACHED.
JOINING ME NOW THE AUTHOR
OF "KOCHLAND THE SECRET STORY OF
KOCH INDUSTRIES AND CORPORATE
POWER IN AMERICA."
CHRISTOPHER, YOU NOTE WE USE
KOCH PRODUCTS EVERY DAY AND
ALMOST NEVER SEE THEIR NAME.
WHAT ARE THE PRODUCTS?
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
>> WELL, THIS COMPANY
SPECIALIZES IN THE KINDS OF
BUSINESSES THAT UNDERPIN
CIVILIZATION.
CIVILIZATION. KOCH MAKES FUEL, FERTILIZER,
BUILDING MATERIALS, CLOTHING
MATERIALS, THE SENSORS IN YOUR
CELL PHONES.
CELL PHONES. THE KIND OF STUFF YOU USE EVERY
DAY BUT NEVER DIRECTLY PURCHASE
IF YOU WILL.
AND THE PROFITS FROM THIS HAVE
BEEN STUNNING.
BEEN STUNNING. KOCH’S ANNUAL SALES FOR EXAMPLE
ARE LARGER THAN THAT OF
FACEBOOK, GOLDMAN SACHS, AND
U.S. STEEL COMBINED.
THIS IS A MASSIVE COMPANY THAT
AFFECTS MILLIONS OF AMERICANS.
>> THEN HOW ON EARTH DO WE
BARELY KNOW ABOUT THEM?
I WANT TO SHARE A QUOTE FROM THE
BOOK.
BOOK. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SECRECY.
YOU WRITE, SECRECY WAS A
STRATEGIC NECESSITY FOR KOCH
INDUSTRIES.
INDUSTRIES. CHARLES KOCH DID NOT WANT TO
SURRENDER IT.
SURRENDER IT. HE ALSO DIDN’T WANT TO SURRENDER
CONTROL.
CONTROL. HE HAD A SPECIFIC, CLEAR VISION
OF HOW TO RUN HIS COMPANY AND HE
DIDN’T NEED WALL STREET
INVESTORS TO INTERFERE.
SO WAS THE MAGIC OF ALL THIS TO
KEEP THE COMPANY PRIVATE?
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
WHAT IS SO INTERESTING TO ME IS
THE SECRECY AROUND THIS
CORPORATION.
CORPORATION. WE KNOW KOCH, FOR EXAMPLE, VERY
INTENTIONALLY DISGUISES ITS
POLITICAL DONATIONS.
POLITICAL DONATIONS. WELL, THAT COMES FROM THE
BUSINESS ITSELF.
BUSINESS ITSELF. AND WHAT I REALIZED IS THAT
SECRECY IS STRATEGIC FOR KOCH
INDUSTRIES.
INDUSTRIES. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS A COMPANY
THAT IS REALLY DEEPLY INVOLVED
IN WHAT WE WOULD CALL TRADING,
BUYING AND SELLING, ENERGY,
SUPPLIES, EVEN BUYING AND
SELLING OTHER COMPANIES.
WHEN THAT’S YOUR LINE OF WORK
YOU REALLY DON’T WANT OTHER
PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW AND
TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE BE TO DO.
THAT’S WHY SECRECY IS SO
FUNDAMENTAL TO THIS COMPANY.
>> CHARLIE, YOU HAVE SEEN THIS
PLAY OUT IN WISCONSIN, WISCONSIN
POLITICS.
POLITICS. PUT IT INTO CONTEXT.
>> WELL, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THEY
HAVE BEEN MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE
CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT AND THE
RISE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BUT
WHAT IS INTERESTING TO ME, ALSO,
IS THE WAY THAT -- IS THE RULE
THEY’RE GOING TO PLAY IN THE ERA
OF TRUMP.
OF TRUMP. THEY NEVER REALLY GOT ON BOARD
WITH DONALD TRUMP AND THE THING
ABOUT THE KOCHS AND I’M TALKING
ABOUT POLITICS, IN CONTRAST TO
SOME OF THE OTHER PLAYERS LIKE
THE MERCERS, THEY DO THINK THEY
ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT IDEAS.
AND I THINK THEY HAVE BEEN
WILLING TO STAY ARMS LENGTH.
>> AND --
>> AND -- >> THEY BOUGHT INTO THE WHOLE
STEVE BANNON, YOU KNOW, TRUMP
SORT OF WORLD VIEW.
AND I THINK THAT IT’S
INTERESTING TO ME TO NOTE WHAT
ROLE THE KOCHS WILL PLAY OR THE
KOCH -- THE INFRASTRUCTURE WILL
PLAY IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND
THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT POST
DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD TRUMP. THESE GUYS ARE HARD TO KIND OF,
YOU KNOW, IS JUST PUT INTO A BOX
BECAUSE THEY’RE QUITE
LIBERTARIAN.
LIBERTARIAN. THEY ARE INTERESTED IN A WHOLE
LOT OF THINGS.
>> KRISTOFFER,CHRISTOPHER YOU GO
GREATER DETAIL AROUND HOW DONALD
TRUMP WAS CERTAINLY NOT THE KOCH
BROTHERS’ BOY.
BROTHERS’ BOY. THEY CONSIDERED FIVE DIFFERENT
REPUBLICANS IN 2016.
NONE OF THEM WERE THE PRESIDENT.
YOU WROTE THIS.
IN MANY WAYS, DONALD TRUMP POSED
A GREATER POLITICAL THREAT TO
CHARLES KOCH’S POLITICAL AGENDA
THAN BARACK OBAMA.
THAT IS A BIG STATEMENT.
HOW?
HOW? >> WELL, CHARLES KOCH HAS BEEN
PATIENTLY WORKING TO RESHAPE THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY FOR 40 YEARS.
HIS GOAL AS CHARLIE JUST SAID IS
TO MAKE THE REPUBLICANS MORE
LIBERTARIAN WITH THIS POINT OF
VIEW THAT GOVERNMENT MUST BE
LIMITED AND MUST NEVER INTERVENE
IN MARKETS.
IN MARKETS. WHEN DONALD TRUMP CAME ALONG IN
2016, HE UP ENDED THAT
PHILOSOPHY.
PHILOSOPHY. DONALD TRUMP CLEARLY BELIEVES
THAT GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IS
NOT ONLY APPROPRIATE BUT
DESIRABLE.
DESIRABLE. JUST LOOK AT THE TARIFFS.
LOOK AT THE TRADE WAR.
DONALD TRUMP IS SEEKING TO
RESHAPE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NOW
IN HIS OWN IMAGE, WHICH IS THIS
SO-CALLED AMERICA FIRST AGENDA.
IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THE
AMERICA FIRST AGENDA IS ANATHEMA
TO THE KOCH NETWORK.
THERE IS A STRUGGLE AND A FIGHT
FOR CONTROL FOR THE FUTURE OF
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND I THINK