Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation

http://www.cgkfoundation.org/

David and Charles Koch, sons of the ultraconservative founder of Koch Industries, Fred Koch, direct the three Koch family foundations: the Charles G. Koch Foundation, the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation. David and Charles control Koch Industries, the second-largest privately owned company and the largest privately owned energy company in the nation; they have a combined net worth of approximately $4 billion, placing them among the top 50 wealthiest individuals in the country and among the top 100 wealthiest individuals in the world in 2003, according to Forbes.

Following in the footsteps of their father, a member of the John Birch Society, the Kochs clearly have a conservative bent. Charles Koch founded the Cato Institute, while David Koch co-founded Citizens for a Sound Economy (now FreedomWorks), where he serves as chairman of the board of directors. David also serves on the board of the Cato Institute. The Koch foundations make substantial annual contributions to these organizations (more than $12 million to each between 1985 and 2002), as well as to other influential conservative think tanks, advocacy groups, media organizations, academic institutes, and legal organizations, thus participating in every level of the policy process.

*This foundation provided funding for the organization Citizens for a Sound Economy. In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two groups: FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity. In the Conservative Transparency database, FreedomWorks' financial data includes data from Citizens for a Sound Economy.