Latest news with #KochIndustries
Calgary Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Mike Harcourt: Alberta's getting tiresome. A call for unity and collaboration in Canada
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and former Reform party leader Preston Manning, along with other Alberta commentators, are getting tiresome about threatening to separate from Canada. Article content Article content Not to mention arrogantly lumping B.C. into a so-called 'West.' Article content Alberta cannot, will not, separate. Indigenous leaders in Alberta have made that clear. Article content Over 70 per cent of Albertans don't want to separate. Article content Article content Also, Alberta is landlocked and needs access across Canada for its oil and gas, agricultural products and pipelines. Article content Article content Alberta has seen LNG pipelines built or soon to be built in northern B.C. The expansion of Trans Mountain's oil pipeline through southern B.C. has increased its capacity to transfer Alberta oil from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000. Article content As well, an oil pipeline from Alberta through Quebec to St. John, New Brunswick's Irving refinery would allow Alberta oil to be sent to Europe and elsewhere. Article content U.S. President Donald Trump is resurrecting the Keystone pipeline project to send more Alberta oil to the Koch Industries refineries in the central U.S. Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Tim Hodgson as minister of energy and natural resources, with a mandate to deliver on major pipelines and other national energy and economic infrastructure. The prime minister has also committed to streamlining approval processes, combining federal and provincial approaches at the same time. Article content Article content So, Alberta, quit your whining. Article content Also, stop talking about the alienated West. The 'West' doesn't exist. Canada is divided into five regions: Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta), plus B.C., Canada's front door to the Pacific and Asia. Article content B.C.'s premiers, from W.A.C. Bennett to David Eby, have consistently and persistently tried to make B.C.'s status clear. Article content Listen to us in B.C. We don't want to separate. Article content Instead, we want to help Carney and provincial premiers build a prosperous, strong and independent Canada — plus minimize Trump's tariff threats, his erratic and bullying ways, including taunts about Canada being a 51st state. Article content So, Alberta, stop you whining and posturing. Join Team Canada.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rep. Ron Estes talks taxes with Americans For Prosperity while crowd protests outside
U.S. Rep. Ron Estes made a pitch for continuing President Donald Trump's tax cuts to a friendly crowd of about 35 supporters Saturday, as more than 200 people gathered outside to protest Estes, Trump, and billionaire Elon Musk over deep cuts to federal spending and workforce. Estes was the headliner of a meeting at downtown Wichita's Union Station. It was sponsored by Americans For Prosperity, a Republican-supporting political group affiliated with Koch Industries, which advocates for extending tax cuts passed by Congress in 2017 during Trump's first administration. 'What we did with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was, how do we get more money in people's pockets so they can do the things that they want to do with it,' Estes said. But as he and others spoke, clearly audible were the demonstrators outside, honking horns, blowing whistles and chanting 'This is what democracy looks like' and other slogans protesting the Trump administration. Many called on Estes to hold a broad-based town hall meeting, so they could ask questions and vent their frustration over massive spending cuts and firings of government workers spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk heads. 'We make phone calls (to Estes' offices), but no one ever calls back,' said Mandy Pilla, a registered nurse who lives in Andover. 'I'm very frustrated that an unelected oligarch (Musk) is meddling in our government, and I don't believe in that.' The AFP event brought together several speakers. The crowd included Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell and county Republican Chairman John Whitmer. The focus of the rally was the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and the 'necessity of renewing this landmark legislation to continue driving prosperity,' according to the AFP. The act, signed by Trump in January 2018, was the largest tax code overhaul in more than three decades. 'The goal of the one and half trillion-dollar reform bill was to spur economic growth, reduce regulations and create more business-friendly environment for the U.S.,' according to the Bloomberg business news service. 'How do we get the economy to grow?' Estes said. 'Part of that is by making sure that businesses can be able to make investments, that they can make sure they hire more workers and that they can pay their workers. 'What we saw out of that effort, we saw wages go up across the board. . . . All sorts of groups show that they had wage increases after 2017.' The act especially helped small businesses, by allowing them to deduct and not pay taxes on 20% of their business income, Estes said. Several of the act's key provisions, including the small business deductions, are set expire on Dec. 31. 'We don't want to go backwards, we don't want to see an increase in the taxes you have to pay and we don't want to see all of us have a slower economic growth,' Estes said. 'We want to make sure that businesses have the money that they can actually invest in their business and that individuals can keep their money to keep and having in their pockets.' At the same time, protesters swarmed the grounds of Union Station and the nearby Naftzger Park. Some outside said they're worried about planned cuts to federal departments and services, including Medicaid, Veterans Affairs and Education. Others blasted Trump over his withdrawal of support for Ukraine in resisting the Russian invasion. 'I wish I could nail it down to one (cause for protest), but there's just so many,' Pilla said. 'I don't like the fact that there's a felon in the White House, and that he surrounds himself with all these billionaires to make more money. He's taking so many people's way of life — and living — without any forethought.'
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A billionaire paid $26.5 million for an Aspen compound. Now he's trying to sell it for a record-setting $125 million.
Billionaire Bill Koch has relisted his huge Aspen compound for $125 million, its highest-ever price. He tried to sell it before with no luck, but he thinks the market is strong enough this time around. See the estate, which has a 16,631-square-foot main cabin and other amenities across 53 acres. Winters in Colorado are cold, but real estate in the Centennial State is anything but. One of the billionaire Koch brothers is trying again to sell his lavish Aspen compound — this time for its highest-ever price: $125 million. If the estate were to sell for anywhere close to its asking price, it would be the most expensive home ever sold in Colorado. Two other billionaires, former casino mogul Steve Wynn and financier Thomas Peterffy, set the current record in April 2024, paying $108 million for a 22,405-square-foot Aspen home. It marked the first time a sale in the state reached nine digits, placing Aspen among other rarified communities where properties trade for that much, including New York, LA, Palm Beach, and Miami. William "Bill" Koch sold his stake in the family conglomerate, Koch Industries, to his brothersfor $470 million in 1983. Fast forward to 2007, when Koch spent a relatively small sum — $26.5 million — on a former dude ranch just outside the posh ski town of Aspen. Today, after extensive renovations, it has a 16,600-square-foot main lodge and seven cabins, one of which is a home gym. The total square footage of all the structures is about 25,300. The 53-acre property also offers ample Aspen-suitable amenities, including hot tubs, hiking trails, and an altitude-acclimation room. Koch — who is worth $2 billion as of February 21, according to Forbes — told The Wall Street Journal that the $125 million asking price is fitting given that a few of the area's ultraluxury homes have sold for around $6,000 per square foot. "If we applied that to our 25,000 square feet, our asking price would be $150 million," Koch told the Journal. "Scarcity fuels luxury sales in Aspen's real estate market. Just as high-end brands like Hermès and Rolex create demand through limited availability, Aspen's appeal outpaces its real estate demand," Koch's listing agent Steven Shane, of Compass, said in an email. Take a look inside Koch's massive compound for sale and read about his journey to find a new buyer. Bill Koch purchased the 53-acre property for $26.5 million in 2007. According to Architectural Digest, the property was used as a dude ranch and an event venue before Koch bought it. He added 31 more parcels onto the property in 2015. Later in 2015, he listed the entire property for $100 million. He dropped the price to $80 million in 2016, but it didn't sell. Koch was able to sell the 31 acres he added on for $14.5 million in 2020. At various points, he's tried renting out the remaining property for $35,000 per night or $300,000 a month. There are eight structures spread out across the compound. The main lodge is 16,600 square feet. It has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Counting the other buildings, there are 14 total bedrooms and 17 total bathrooms. The lodge, also known as the primary cabin, is two stories with 30-foot-tall ceilings. It has a dining room that seats 20 people, a screening room, and a living room with a wall of windows that faces the mountains. Other amenities around the property include a gym, hiking trails, two hot tubs, and an altitude-acclimation room. If there's not enough to do on the grounds, the estate is only 11 miles away from Aspen by car. Read the original article on Business Insider
The Guardian
27-01-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Charles Koch's network launches $20m campaign backing Trump tax breaks
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the flagship political arm of the rightwing network formed by the fossil fuels billionaire Charles Koch and his late brother David, is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign backing Donald Trump's plans to extend tax cuts and roll back federal regulations. A private fundraising letter from AFP to its secretive list of donors, seen by the Guardian, outlines the organization's strategy for the first six months of the new Trump administration. The eight-page document, made public here for the first time, promises a 'herculean undertaking' in which AFP says it will press for renewed and deepened tax cuts and an 'unwinding [of] as many of the growth and innovation killing regulations as possible'. The group, which has played a significant role in shifting the Republican party to the right in recent years, has announced a $20m campaign to extend the tax cuts introduced by Trump during his first presidency that are due to expire at the end of this year. The donor appeal calls for even bolder tax cuts for corporations that would directly benefit Koch Industries, the energy and chemicals giant from which most of AFP's funding derives. AFP's donor pitch, presented as a 2025 'prospectus', outlines a vast 'lobbying and grassroots effort' – replete with digital adverts, phone calls, social media posts, podcasts and on-the-ground door-knocking – to boost core Trump ambitions. As such, it speaks to the oligarchy of 'extreme wealth, power and influence' coalescing around Trump, which Joe Biden warned about in his final address from the Oval Office. Trump's inauguration on Monday gave tech billionaires including Elon Musk, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos front-row seats. Charles Koch, one of the world's richest people, is now joining the list of oligarchs seeking to enhance Trump's second presidency in mutually-beneficial ways. It is estimated that the Kochs, who own the US's second-largest privately held company, have benefited by more than $1bn a year from Trump's tax cuts. That bonanza would continue were the reduced corporate and income tax rates effected by Trump continued. Koch Industries, which includes major oil refining and distribution interests, also stands to profit from any curtailment of federal environmental regulations combatting the climate crisis. As one of his first acts back in office, Trump moved for the second time to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement. 'Koch Inc is primarily a fossil fuel company, so they are going to do very well under Trump,' said Arn Pearson, executive director of the progressive non-profit watchdog Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). CMD obtained the donors' letter and shared it with the Guardian. AFP was founded in 2004 by the libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch (David died in 2019). It remains a key political advocacy group within the Koch network, with $130m of its $168m budget in 2023 coming from the Kochs through their main funding channel, Stand Together. Relations between Trump and Charles Koch have at times appeared to be strained. In 2018, Trump wrote on social media: 'I don't need their money or bad ideas,' referring to the 'globalist Koch Brothers' whom he derided as 'a total joke in real Republican circles'. Last year Americans for Prosperity Action, the Koch network's Super Pac, supported Nikki Haley in the Republican primary race over Trump. But AFP went on to aid Trump's bid for a return to the White House by running an intensive digital advertising campaign in swing states relentlessly and falsely attacking 'Bidenomics' as the sole cause of inflation in the US. AFP's prospectus suggests that whatever remaining animus that may exist between the two men has now been smoothed over. 'Trump and Koch are working hand in glove transactionally to move the parts of the Trump agenda that the Koch network agrees with – and that's a lot of it,' said Nancy MacLean, professor of history and public policy at Duke university. MacLean is author of Democracy in Chains that chronicles how the Kochs exerted their grip on US politics. The affinity of the two rightwing behemoths is amply on display in Trump's cabinet nominations. Pete Hegseth, the newly-confirmed defense secretary, is former chief executive of Concerned Veterans for America, a non-profit group working for the rights of military veterans that now forms part of AFP. Chris Wright, a fracking company boss who has been nominated as Trump's energy secretary, has openly expressed support for the Kochs. In 2023, he donated $100,000 to AFP Action, research by the Energy and Policy Institute found. Extending the tax cuts is one of the key policy aims of the second Trump administration, at an estimated cost of $5tn. Such a massive expense would require deep cuts to public services, including potentially slashing MediCaid. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Trump got his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through Congress with the help of a $20m ad campaign by AFP. Before he died, David Koch boasted: 'AFP worked very closely with the White House to win passage of the tax reform plan President Trump outlined.' The AFP donors' letter depicts the tax cuts as a 'huge win for the American people', including 'low- and middle-income Americans making less than $50,000'. In fact, the cuts have disproportionately benefited wealthy Americans and corporations like Koch Industries. The prospectus says that AFP will mount a huge lobbying effort with a goal of 1,500 meetings on Capitol Hill to 'turn up the heat' on Congress members who do not support extending the tax cuts and rewarding those who do. 'We will work to counter the class-warfare argument that tax cuts are for the 'rich'.' An analysis by the non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that making the tax cuts permanent would have an even more inequitable impact than the original 2017 cuts. The top 1% of income earners would benefit most, while the poorest fifth of Americans would get just 1% of the total provisions. The donors' appeal singles out Latino voters as an especial target of AFP's campaigning. The Libre Initiative, an outpost of AFP that spreads anti-tax and anti-government ideology within Latino communities, will launch a 'national grassroots program to rally Latino Americans to support the extension of the tax cuts', the document says. MacLean said the notion that the Koch network was working on behalf of middle- and low-income and Latino families was a 'bald-faced lie. This is corporate interests from the dirtiest industrial sector – fossil fuels – whose unbelievable wealth can hire an army of so-called grassroots supporters to mislead us all with an agenda for irreversible change that will harm most Americans.' The Koch network has also played a central role in the unfolding attack on federal regulations in areas such as environmental and energy controls. A Koch-affiliated group, Cause of Action, was behind Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo, the case that last year led the US supreme court to puncture a gaping hole in the regulatory powers of federal agencies. One of the lead lawyers pressing the Loper Bright case before the supreme court was AFP's former head of policy. AFP's appeal to donors said that it will now use the Loper Bright decision to 'unwind the harmful growth of regulation and the unconstitutional overreach of the administrative state'. It also pledges to use the Koch network's extensive lobbying resources on Capitol Hill to make permanent any cuts to regulation and federal spending achieved by Elon Musk's fledgling 'department of government efficiency', Doge.
