Libertarianism Koch funds and supports libertarian and free-enterprise policy and advocacy organizations. Two works that have been especially influential upon Koch's philosophy are Ludwig Von Mises'
Human Action and
F. A. Harper's
Why Wages Rise. After reading Harper's book, Koch became involved with Harper's
Institute for Humane Studies, of which he became a principal supporter. He has been on the board of IHS since 1966. Since the 1980s, IHS has been increasingly interested in aiding the careers of aspiring educators, journalists, and policy professionals with an interest in classical liberal thought. Among other projects, the IHS runs the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program, which "has supported more than 900 students during eight-week internships at public policy organizations, both in D.C. and around the country." In addition, almost 200 institutions of higher education in the U.S. are funded by the
Charles G. Koch Foundation. What all the Koch-funded programs have in common is an interest in studying free societies with an eye to understanding the mechanisms behind the assumption that economic freedom benefits humanity. In 2008, Koch was included in
Businessweek's list of top 50 American givers. Between 2004 and 2008, Koch gave $246 million, focusing on "libertarian causes, giving money for academic and public policy research and social welfare." Koch was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from
George Mason University in recognition of his financial support "through scholarships, faculty recruitment, and research grants". In June 2019, the Charles Koch Foundation announced the foundation of anti-war think tank
Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, cosponsored by George Soros'
Open Society Foundations. He is a board member at the
Mercatus Center, a market-oriented research
think tank at
George Mason University. Koch's
philanthropic activities have focused on research, policy, and educational projects intended to advance free-market views. He has underwritten scholarships and financed the research of economists such as
James Buchanan, and Friedrich Hayek. He has also "supported efforts to inspire at-risk young people to consider entrepreneurship, to teach American students the principles of limited government, and to connect recent graduates with market-oriented organizations, in an effort to launch their careers in public policy." He has given to the
Bill of Rights Institute, a non-profit group that educates teachers, students, and others about the
Bill of Rights. He has also given to the
Youth Entrepreneurs, an organization that teaches business skills to at-risk youth in Kansas schools.
Climate change Koch acknowledges
anthropogenic climate change, but opposes top-down government regulation as a solution. Rather, he favors bottom-up technological innovation from private entities, saying they can lower emissions while improving efficiency and lowering costs. He has heavily funded organizations and politicians who
deny or downplay climate change and
environmental regulations that observers say is due to his business interests in the fossil fuel industry. A leaked 2012 fundraising plan indicated that the
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation contributed $25,000 in 2011 to the
Heartland Institute, an American
conservative and
libertarian public policy think tank known for climate change denial. Koch has also supported the
Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, a scientific effort to compile an open database of the Earth's
surface temperature records. The
Pacific Legal Foundation, funded by Koch, has litigated against increased environmental regulation. The
American Enterprise Institute received $2.1 million over two decades from the Charles Koch Foundation for its
climate change denialist activities. The Republican
Trump administration adopted
environmental policies similar to those advocated for by Koch-funded groups. As of 2023, his company has received awards from the EPA for three consecutive years.
COVID-19 pandemic Koch has also given money to the American Institute for Economic Research, the right-wing libertarian think tank which sponsored the
Great Barrington Declaration. After the bid, Koch told a reporter that conventional politics "tends to be a nasty, corrupting business ... I'm interested in advancing libertarian ideas". and Koch funds the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program through the
Institute for Humane Studies which recruits and mentors young libertarians. Koch also organizes twice yearly meetings The award honors "the ideals and principles which guided
William E. Simon's giving, including personal responsibility, resourcefulness, volunteerism, scholarship, individual freedom, faith in God, and helping people to help themselves." In July 2015 Charles Koch and his brother were praised by President Obama and
Anthony Van Jones for their bipartisan efforts to reform the criminal justice system. For roughly a decade Koch has been advocating for several reforms within the prison system, including the reduction of recidivist criminals, easing the employment process for rehabilitated persons, and the defense of private property from
asset forfeiture. Aligning with groups such as the
ACLU, the
Center for American Progress,
Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the
Coalition for Public Safety, and the
MacArthur Foundation, Koch believes the current system has unfairly targeted low-income and minority communities all while wasting substantial government resources. In 2020, Koch's Koch Industries donated $2.8 million to Republican Party causes through a
political action committee. Koch Industries donated $221,000 to Democratic Party causes. On November 13, 2020, reports in several media published statements made during an interview with
The Wall Street Journal by Koch about his regret that he had contributed significantly to the development of hyper-partisanship in the United States. Koch added that he intended to work with
Democrats, moderate Republicans, and liberals to facilitate
bipartisanship. ==Philanthropy==