Billionaire GOP mega-donor David Koch is dead at 79.
HuffPost reports: “As two of the 10 wealthiest Americans, David and Charles Koch used their riches to help fund and advance their conservative and libertarian political beliefs. They helped found the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, the Reason Foundation, which publishes a libertarian magazine, and a series of political organizations, including Americans for Prosperity. Koch left the board of Americans for Prosperity last year, citing health reasons.” Their political activism began in the 1970s as big business began a concerted effort to reassert political power after decades of predominantly New Deal Democratic Party governance. But the Koch brothers did not fully emerge as public political figures until they helped fund and organize the opposition to President Barack Obama.”
Koch’s brother Charles Koch released a statement: “It is with a heavy heart that I announced the passing of my brother David. Anyone who worked with David surely experienced his giant personality and passion for life. Twenty-seven years ago, David was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given a grim prognosis of a few years to live. David likes 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.”
Clearly not all are grateful, given the outpouring of vitriol against Koch on social media immediately after the announcement of his death.
“David Koch”by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
