Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty

Sons of Wichita is the first major biography of the Koch family, one of the most influential dynasties of the modern age alongside the Rockefellers and Kennedys. After their father Fred Koch's death, his four sons—Frederick, Charles, and fraternal twins David and Bill—inherited an oil and cattle-ranching empire. Fred had warned them in a letter that their inheritance "may either be a blessing or a curse." The brothers fought bitterly over their birthright in the decades that followed. Charles and David built Koch Industries into one of the largest private corporations in the world, larger than Boeing and Disney, and became two of the wealthiest men on the planet. Influenced by their father's views, they have spent decades attempting to reshape the American political landscape through libertarian advocacy and now control a significant force within the Republican Party. Their supporters view them as defenders against Big Government; critics have called them political "contract killers." Bill built his own multi-billion dollar energy empire and became known as an America's Cup-winning yachtsman, playboy, and collector of fine wine and Western memorabilia. Frederick lived privately as an arts patron, restoring historic homes and estates. Based on hundreds of interviews, this biography examines the complicated lives, legacies, and ambitions of these four tycoons.