The glue that bound them together, however, was antipathy toward government regulation and taxation, particularly as it impinged on their own accumulation of wealth. While those attracted to the Kochs’ meetings were uniformly conservative, they were not the predictable cartoon villains of conspiracy theories but spanned a wide range of views and often disagreed among themselves about social and international issues.
And while some had made their own fortunes, many others were intent on preserving vast legacies they had inherited. They were mostly businessmen very few were women. Astor’s famous 400, which defined the top bracket of New York society in the late nineteenth century on the basis of those who could fit into the Astors’ ballroom, the Kochs’ donor list provides another portrait of a fortunate social subset. Only one full guest list of attendants at any of the Koch summits has surfaced publicly. Jane Mayer’s Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right opens the curtain on these shadowy figures, showing the aggressive maneuverings they employ to control and corrupt our politics. The network of hard-right billionaires extends far beyond the infamous Koch brothers. While it is well-known that deep pockets finance the big names in politics, much about the private world they inhabit and how their money is allocated remains hidden.
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