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{{short description|Charles G. and David H. Koch and their activities in US politics}}

[[Charles Koch|Charles G.]] (born 1935) and [[David Koch|David H. Koch]] (1940–2019), sometimes referred to as the Koch brothers,<ref name=mayer-dark-2-3/> have become famous for their financial and political influence in [[Politics of the United States|United States politics]] with a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], more specifically, [[Right-libertarianism|right-libertarian]] or [[Libertarianism in the United States|American-style libertarian]] political stance. From around 2004 to 2019,<ref name="Cillizza-changed-2019">{{cite news |last1=Cillizza |first1=Chris |title=The Point. How the Koch brothers fundamentally changed modern politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/politics/david-koch-charles-koch-brothers/index.html |access-date=19 December 2022 |agency=CNN |date=23 August 2019}}</ref> with "foresight and perseverance",<ref name=mayer-dark-2-3/> the brothers organized like-minded wealthy libertarian-oriented conservatives, spent hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money to build an "integrated" and  "stealth" network of think tanks, foundations, "grassroots" movements,<ref name="Cillizza-changed-2019"/> academic programs, advocacy and legal groups to "destroy the prevalent statist paradigm"<ref name=mayer-dark-statist>article by Charles Koch, "The Business Community, Resisting Regulation", in the ''Libertarian Review'', August 1978, quoted in {{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |publisher=Doubleday |pages=54}}</ref> and reshape public opinion to favor minimal government.<ref name=mayer-dark-2-3>{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |publisher=Doubleday |pages=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RsYr_iQUs6QC&q=koch&pg=PA144|title=The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society|last1=Dryzek|first1=John S.|last2=Norgaard|first2=Richard B.|last3=Schlosberg|first3=David|year=2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0199566600|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Fisher/> As of mid 2018, the media has been encouraged to refer to the "Koch network" rather than the "Koch brothers".<ref name=severns-assailed-2018/>

The Koch brothers are the sons of [[Fred C. Koch]] (1900–1967), who founded [[Koch Industries]], now the second largest privately held company in the United States. As of 2012 they owned 84% of Koch Industries stock,<ref name=Fisher>{{cite news | last=Fisher|first=Daniel|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/12/05/inside-the-koch-empire-how-the-brothers-plan-to-reshape-america/#49acde6e650b | title=Inside The Koch Empire: How The Brothers Plan To Reshape America | work=[[Forbes]]| date=December 5, 2012 | access-date=December 15, 2013}}</ref> and as of December 2022, Charles Koch was estimated to have a net worth of $66 billion, making him the 14th-richest person in the world.<ref name="Bloomberg-billionaire">{{cite news |title=Bloomberg Billionaires Index |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/charles-d-koch/ |access-date=21 December 2022 |agency=Bloomberg}}</ref> Fred C. had four sons, but the other two, Fredrick and William, are not involved in the family business; Charles and David bought them out in 1983,<ref>The brothers settled in 2001, in {{cite magazine|author=Kroll, Luisa|title=Billionaire Family Feuds: The High Stakes Of Dysfunction And Dissent|date=June 1, 2012|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2012/06/01/billionaire-family-feuds-the-high-stakes-of-dysfunction-and-dissent|magazine=Forbes|access-date=July 10, 2012}}</ref> and neither are involved with the [[Koch family foundations|family foundations]], or Charles and David's political or philanthropic network.

The brothers' ideology is [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], more specifically the [[Right-libertarianism|right-libertarian]] branch most ~~common~~commonly found in [[Libertarianism in the United States|American-style libertarianism]].<ref name=belkin-2020>{{Cite news |last=Belkin |first=Douglas |date=2020-11-13 |title=Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/charles-koch-says-his-partisanship-was-a-mistake-11605286893 |access-date=2022-03-23 |issn=0099-9660 |quote=At 85, the libertarian tycoon who spent decades funding conservative causes says he wants a final act building bridges across political divides.}}</ref>

The late David Koch described himself as a [[Social liberalism|social liberal]],<ref name="Eric Black-5-19-14" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=2014-12-14 |title=David Koch is pro-choice, supports gay rights; just not Democrats {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/politics/david-koch-gay-rights-abortion-democrats/index.html |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=CNN |language=en |quote="I'm basically a libertarian. And I'm a conservative on economic matters and I'm a social liberal" [...] Koch, who supports gay rights and women's right to choose, said if candidates he gives to don't share those ideals, "That's their problem. I do have those views." [...] "I'm really focused intensely on economic and fiscal issues, because if those go bad the country as a whole suffers terribly."}}</ref> and in the early years of their political activity ran for vice president as the [[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian Party's]] candidate.<ref name=nyt-quixotic-2014/>

However, his "intense" focus was "on economic and fiscal issues" - i.e. being [[Fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]] or [[Economic liberalism|economically liberal]]<ref name=":0"/> rather than other libertarian causes, and as of 2014 the millions of dollars both brothers donated to candidates went to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]], not Libertarians.<ref name="Eric Black-5-19-14">{{cite web|last1=Black|first1=Eric|title=Move from Libertarian Party to GOP: Koch brothers change tactics, not beliefs |url=https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2014/05/move-libertarian-party-gop-koch-brothers-change-tactics-not-beliefs|website=www.minnpost.com|access-date=May 19, 2014|date=May 19, 2014}}</ref>