Leonard Pens Must-Read Book on Koch
A clever observer of modern life once said, “If you want to boycott Koch Industries, you can’t.”
He was referring to the Wichita-based multi-national corporation that has its fingers into everything from cattle to paper towels to energy to plastics and even the rugs you walk on.
Now business journalist Christopher Leonard has written a must-read book ("Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America;" Simon and Schuster, $35) which traces the growth of this titan, which has been described as “a privately held, infamously secretive conglomerate” by Publishers Weekly.
Devotees of market-based management and those who despise the union-busting tactics of the Kochs will both appreciate the author’s excellent job of casting a fair eye and even hand on the half-century growth of this colossus.
Koch Industries is phenomenal: A $110 billion annual revenue organization, it is larger than Goldman Sachs, U.S. Steel and you-name-it while operating largely under the radar since it is not publicly traded, and certainly has no annual fest a la the Buffett-Berkshire gala in Omaha which draws the spotlight on this town and thousands here to listen to the Oracle.
How Koch grew by carefully acquiring unglamorous businesses and patiently waiting for results is, itself a fascinating tale; seeing how the organization has dealt with regulation, faced major charges as a polluter, become a key player in the world of lobbying and political influence are sagas of industry virtually unmatched since the day of the robber barons.
At the same time, the philanthropy of the Kochs is extraordinary, and their influence on modern ultra-conservatism (taking full advantage of Citizens United’s green light to massive, secretive cash contributions) is legendary.
In less than two weeks, Leonard’s book has received rave reviews for its prodigious reporting and even-handedness. Anyone interested in an extraordinary and unvarnished examination of a modern American business success will not mind wading through all seven hundred plus pages of this important story.
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