The billionaire industrialists and their political operatives strive to ensure the anonymity of the wealthy conservatives who fund their sprawling political operation—which funneled more than $400 million into the 2012 elections—and to keep their plans private. Attendees of these summits are warned that the seminars, where the Kochs and their allies hatch strategies for electing Republicans and advancing conservative initiatives on the state and national levels, are strictly confidential.
They are cautioned to keep a close eye on their meeting notes and materials. But last week, following the Kochs' first donor gathering of 2014, one attendee left behind a sensitive document at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort outside of Palm Springs, California, where the Kochs and their comrades had spent three days focused on winning the 2014 midterm elections and more. 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.
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.
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