Sons of Wichita: The Koch Brothers Biography - How They Built America's Most Powerful Private Dynasty | Business Leadership, Political Influence & American Capitalism Stories

The story of the Koch family is one that is fascinating in and of itself, but it becomes even more so during a year when two of the brothers are about to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to elect people that they want in office. They are politically spoiled and want to be able to have their way, no matter what.The biography begins with the father and his start in the business world. While he wasn't necessarily dishonest, his business dealings were on the shady side and he built a nice little concern for himself and his family. Because of litigation over his dubious business practices, he developed a distaste for the government that he certainly passed on to at least some of his 4 sons.That there are 4 sons was a surprise by itself. I think everyone knows Charles and David, but the other 2 are much more obscure and less likely known. The oldest of the brothers is Frederick, who is strange in his own right and really never wanted anything to do with the business, although his aversion did not extend to the money aspect. He spends his time collecting houses, rehabilitating them and then filling them with antiques. A book about im would be possible it its own right.Next in line is Charles, and I think most people are aware of him. He is a fierce libertarian and a shrewd business man that also has a streak of dubiousness to his business practices. At one point he joined a sort of libertarian commune (sort of hard to describe) and when he got bored with that he founded a famous libertarian think tank. He had a falling out with them and now seems to be content to build a vast empire and pull political strings.The next two are twins: David and Bill. David is similar to his brother Charles, with the exception that he is willing to be more open and outgoing, He has out himself on a vice presidential ticket and seems almost to do the bidding of his older brother. Bill, on the other hand, is mostly interested in money and was happy to get his share and then separate from the family.The dynamics of the family are amazing and that any of them are willing to talk to any of the others is rather amazing. All are smart and very well educated, but have distinctly different personalities. Fighting about money…at least for a number of years was a number one hobby of the brothers. One passage that I found of particular interest dealt with the offer Charles made for the stock owned by Frederick and Bill. They thought it was a low ball offer and threatened to try to take the company public to get every dime they deserved. A very highly placed employee took Bill aside and told him if the company was ever taken public, his brothers and a lot of executives would go to prison for quite some time. Very enlightening information!I have only skimmed the surface here. The book s truly fascinating to read and should be on the list of anyone who cares about politics and the influence large sums of money have on the outcomes. In addition, the story of the family is sort of like a soap opera and should appeal to those who like fiction, but as they say, truth is always stranger than fiction!