Mother Jones
ran in to a list of a secret handshake members only circle jerk club meeting recently
between the Koch Boys (wink, nod) and some of these other Guys (wink, nod) in Palm
Springs. LOL
The document
lists VIP donors—including John Schnatter, the founder of the Papa John's pizza
chain—who were scheduled for one-on-one meetings with representatives of the
political, corporate, and philanthropic wings of Kochworld. The one-page
document, provided to Mother Jones by a hotel guest who discovered it, offers a
fascinating glimpse into the Kochs' political machine and shows how closely
intertwined it is with Koch Industries, their $115 billion conglomerate.
The more
than 40 donors courted by the Kochs include hedge fund and private-equity
billionaires, real estate tycoons, and executives of top corporations,
including Jockey International and TRT Holdings, owner of Omni Hotels and
Gold's Gym. A number of them have never been identified as members of the Koch
donor network, including Schnatter, one of the more prominent names on the
list. An outspoken opponent of the Affordable Care Act, he is a longtime
Republican donor who hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney's presidential
campaign. The document notes that the pizza mogul was scheduled to meet with
Ryan Stowers, the director of higher education at the Charles G. Koch
Foundation. (Schnatter did not respond to requests for comment.)
"DONORS"
Carl Berg: Ranking No. 308 on the Forbes 400, Berg is a Silicon Valley real estate titan
with an estimated fortune of $1.1 billion.
Ronnie
Cameron: He runs
agribusiness giant Mountaire Corporation. During a meeting of the Kochs' donor
network in 2011, Charles Koch recognized Cameron (and other donors) for donating at
least $1 million to their cause.
Charles Chandler: Based in the Kochs' hometown of Wichita,
Kansas, Chandler is
the CEO of Intrust Bank.
John
Childs: He runs
the Boston-based private equity firm J.W. Childs & Associates.
Jamie
Coulter: Haling
from Wichita, Coulter is
the former CEO of the Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon restaurant chain.
Bob and
Steve Fettig: The
Fettigs run the metal fabrication company Tankcraft, based in Darien,
Wisconsin. Steve is the company's CFO; Bob is CEO.
Richard
and Leslie Gilliam: Richard
founded Virginia-based coal mining company Cumberland Resources
Corporation, which he sold to Massey Energy for nearly a billion dollars in 2010.
Ken
Griffin: A major
conservative donor, the Chicago-based businessman founded the hedge fund
Citadel and is worth an estimated $4.4 billion.
John
Griffin: He's
the founder of Blue Ridge Capital, a New York hedge fund.
Dick
Haworth: He's
the chairman emeritus of Holland, Michigan-based office furniture company
Haworth.
Richard
"Ric" Kayne: He's
the founder and chairman of Los Angeles-based investment firm Kayne Anderson
Capital Advisors.
Dan
Kirby: He's
president of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Kirby Financial.
Fred
Klipsch: He's
the chairman of Klipsch Group, a speaker and
headphone manufacturer.
Frank Kozel: He's the principal of Pittsburgh-based
Keystone Energy Oil & Gas Inc.
Francis
"Franc" Lee: He's
the president and CEO of Flowood, Mississippi-based lender First Tower,
LLC.
Robert
"Bob" Luddy: He's president of CativeAire Systems Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Hugh
Maclellan: He's
the executive chairman of Chattanooga, Tennessee's Maclellan Foundation, which make grants to
Christian causes.
Cecil
O'Brate: He's
the CEO of Garden City, Kansas-based Palmer Manufacturing & Tank.
Verl
Purdy: He's
the chairman and CEO of Charlotte, North Carolina-based
AGDATA Inc.
Tom
Rastin: He's a
director and vice chairman of the Mount Vernon, Ohio-based Ariel
Foundation, started by his wife, Karen Buchwald Wright, the CEO of Ariel
Corporation. Rastin is the company's vice president of engineering, sales,
and marketing.
George
Records: A member
of the Hoover Institution's board of overseers, Records is the retired
chairman of Oklahoma City's Midland Group.
Robert
Rowling: Ranking
No. 93 on the Forbes 400 with an estimated fortune of $4.9 billion, Rowling is
the cofounder of TRT Holdings, which owns Gold's Gym and Omni Hotels.
John
Schnatter: He's
the founder and CEO of Papa John's International.
Tina
and Craig Snider: They
are the children of Ed Snider, a founding contributor of the Ayn Rand Institute
and chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a sports and entertainment company that owns
the Philadelphia Flyers.
Dian
Stai: Based
in Texas, Stai cofounded Owen Healthcare Inc. with her late husband. She's a
top conservative donor who gave $125,000 to the pro-Mitt Romney super-PAC
Restore Our Future during the 2012 election cycle.
Jim
Stephenson: He's
the president and CEO of Georgia-based Yancey Bros. Co., "which
provides Caterpillar, AGCO, and Blue Bird Bus Co. products and services
throughout the state of Georgia." Stephenson is also an Americans for
Prosperity board member.
Jim Von
Ehr: He's the
CEO and founder of Richardson, Texas-based Zyvex Labs.
Debra
Waller: Since
2001, she's been the chairman and CEO of
Jockey International Inc.
Lew
Ward: He's
the founder of Oklahoma-based Ward Petroleum Corporation.
Dick
Weiss: He's
the Core Equity senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management.
Karen
Wright: She's
the founder and CEO of the Ariel Foundation, a private philanthropy group based
in Mount Vernon, Ohio. She's also CEO of the Ariel Corporation, a natural gas
compression company.
*Mother
Jones was unable to confirm the identities of some donors on the
list, including Steve Clark, Paul Foster, George Gibbs, George Jenkins,
Jerry Hayden, Kent McCarthy, Andrew Miller, Ted Saunders, Tom Smith, Jaime
Snider, and Dean Williams.
"PLAYERS"
Charles
Koch: He's
the chairman and CEO of Koch Industries.
David
Koch: He's
Koch Industries' executive vice president and a board member.
Michael Lanzara: A former director for special projects
at Koch Companies Public Sector, Lanzara now works for Freedom Partners.
Steve
Feilmeier: He's
chief financial officer and executive vice president of Koch Industries.
Kevin
Gentry: A vice
president at Koch Companies Public Sector, Gentry is the Koch brothers' top
fundraiser. He also serves on the board of Freedom Partners.
Jeff
Noble: A
former senior development associate at Koch Companies Public Sector,
Noble currently works for Freedom Partners.
Tim
Phillips: He's
the president of Americans for Prosperity, the
political advocacy group founded by the Koch brothers and Richard Fink.
Chris
Fink: He's
Americans for Prosperity's vice president of development and the son of Richard Fink.
Teresa
Oelke: She's
Americans for Prosperity's vice president for state operations.
David
Fladeboe: He's
the state director for
Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin.
Brett
Hinkey: A
former senior development associate at Koch Companies Public Sector,
Hinkey now works for Freedom Partners.
Daniel
Garza: He's
the executive director of the Libre Initiative, a
Koch-funded nonprofit focused on Hispanic outreach.
Chase
Koch: He's
Charles' son and the president of Koch Fertilizer.
Richard
Fink: He's
the chairman and CEO of Koch Companies Public Sector and a board member of Koch
Industries. A founder of the Mercatus Center and Americans for Prosperity,
Fink is the Koch' top strategist and political adviser.
Ryan
Stowers: He's
the director for higher education at the Charles G. Koch Foundation.
Brian
Hooks: He's
the executive
director and chief operating officer of the Mercatus Center.
Marc
Short: Short
heads Freedom
Partners, the centerpiece of the Koch brothers' political operation.
Short is a former chief of staff of the House Republican Conference.
Scott
Hagerstrom: He's
the state director of Americans for Prosperity-Michigan.
Jennifer
Stefano: She's
the state director for Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania.
Tommy
Von der Heydt: He's a former regional development officer for Americans for Prosperity.
Corey
Lewandowski: He's
the East Coast regional director for Americans for Prosperity.
Slade
O'Brien: He's state director of
Americans for Prosperity-Florida.
John
Hardin: He's a program manager at the Charles G. Koch
Foundation.
Michael
Palmer: He is
the president of i360, which bills itself as the "leading data and
technology resource for the pro-free-market political and advocacy
community." Palmer's firm has worked closely with the Kochs' voter
microtargeting operation, Themis.
Derek
Johnson: He's a program officer for higher education at the Charles G.
Koch Foundation.
Nathan
Nascimento: He's an
employee of Freedom Partners.
James
Davis: He's
the vice president of strategic communications at Freedom Partners.
Luke
Hilgemann: He's
Americans for Prosperity's chief operating officer.
