Before it became financially lucrative for Koch Industries, however, the division almost sank when it was first acquired due to protest from Pine Bend's strong union over their new employer's strict workplace policies, a process the author covers in great detail. He writes in one section, for example, about the decision to buy Pine Bend Refinery in 1969, a division that ultimately became one of Koch's most stable sources of income. Instead, the author uses some of the more pivotal decisions (both good and bad) that Koch Industries made as a whole to follow the company's history laid out chronologically, each chapter takes an in-depth look at a specific event. More a biography of a business than an expose, Leonard's work doesn't focus much on Charles Koch after its initial chapters. In Kochland, investigative journalist Christopher Leonard offers an in-depth exploration of how CEO Charles Koch developed the enterprise from a mere 300-employee/$2.5 million venture when he joined the company in 1961 into one of the largest, wealthiest and most influential businesses on the planet. Until recently, the company was led by brothers Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David Koch, executive vice president David died due to prostate cancer in August 2019, however, leaving Charles alone. Although originally an oil refinery company, today Koch Industries' subsidiaries produce goods that are used by most Americans on a daily basis, such as paper towels and toilet paper from manufacturer Georgia-Pacific or textiles such as Lycra, Cordura and Dacron from INVESTA. In 2018, it employed approximately 120,000 in 60 countries and made a profit of $110 billion, making it the second largest privately-owned business in the world (after international food conglomerate, Cargill). Many Americans first heard of Koch Industries (or 'the Koch Brothers') during the 2016 presidential election cycle, when the organization became widely known as a huge financial backer of Republican Party candidates few, though, have any idea just how massive the company is. A well-researched and absorbing look into the rise of one of the largest privately held companies in the world.

Kochland review