Koch Brothers -- Heavy Oil -- Keystone XL -- And SO Much More -- Not The Bakken

During the Keystone XL debacle, which is still playing out, it was noted that dirty oil was in the liberals' very own backyard, and they were using that gasoline to get to protests against corporate America.

A lot of folks wrote in to point out the hypocrisy.

I purposely avoided that. I don't recall ever posting a story on the dirty oil refinery in Minnesota, although I may have -- and if I did, I completely forget -- I plead the Fifth. Or do I blame it on a fifth.

But now Rigzone.com has an incredibly good article on the Koch brothers. Some data points:

• Koch Industries: second largest privately held company in the US
• Headquarters in Wichita, Kansas
• Employs 50,000 Americans
• Koch Industries: second largest privately held company in the US
• Oil refinery started in 1940

  Fred's career took off when he developed a more efficient thermal cracking process that turned crude into lighter oils and gasoline. Small, independent oil companies reaped the benefits of this process, which led to bigger yields. However, major oil companies tried to stop Koch by filing more than 40 lawsuits for patent infringement. Fred won nearly all the lawsuits, but the litigation took its toll on his engineering firm, and the company left the U.S. market. 

  Fred regrouped and from 1929 to 1931 built oil refineries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But the real money came when the Soviet's contracted Fred to build 15 refineries in the Soviet Union as well as train Soviet technicians under a $5 million contract, which served as a foundation for Fred's future fortune. While it was a lucrative job for Fred, he witnessed communism first hand and feared that the Soviets were conspiring to take control of the U.S. Thirty years after his Soviet experience, Fred published, "A Business Man Looks at Communism," that warned of the Soviet's plans to take over America. 

  Once back on U.S. soil, Fred married Mary Robinson in 1932. Their son Fredrick arrived one year later, followed by Charles in 1935 and twins David and William in 1940. He also started acquiring assets at a a low price in 1933, as it was the height of the Great Depression.

• Employs 67,000 people in 60 countries
• Each of the brothers own 42 percent of the company

  Charles attributes his success to his free-market business philosophy, which is directly related to his father's communist fears. His patented "Market-Based Management" (MBM) style of leadership encourages employees to act as entrepreneurs who contribute to a wealthier society, much like the Austrian economic philosophies of Friedrich von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises.

• One of the brothers, David, is the richest man in New York