Philanthropist David Koch died last month at the age of 79, after fighting prostate cancer for more than two decades. Along with his older brother Charles, Koch was known—and often criticized—for his substantial support of conservative and libertarian policy research, activism, and political candidates. He was also a supporter of cultural and medical organizations and projects. As part of The Giving Review’s “Collections” series, below is a collection of obituaries of and articles about him in the wake of his death.
W. James Antle III, “David Koch’s misunderstood legacy,” The Week, August 23, 2019
Emily Atkin, “How David Koch Changed the World,” The New Republic. August 23, 2019
Nicholas Ballasy, “Liberals Celebrate the Death of Philanthropist David Koch,” PJ Media, August 23, 2019
Paul Blumenthal, “David Koch, Billionaire Conservative Financier And Industrialist, Dead At 79,” HuffPost, August 23, 2019
Ryan Bort, “David Koch, Billionaire Conservative Activist, Dead at 79,” Rolling Stone, August 23, 2019
Chandra Bozelko, “Don’t Hate Koch Because He Was Generous,” The Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2019
Tim Busch, “David Koch’s greatest contribution was the principled way he did business,” New York Post, August 26, 2019
Jane Coaston, “‘David Koch walked the walk’: a libertarian on the Koch brother’s legacy,” Vox, August 23, 2019
“David Koch,” The Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2019 (Editorial Board)
John Daniel Davidson, “How Decades Of Paranoid Attacks On The Koch Brothers Turned Into Mainstream Leftist Tactics,” The Federalist, August 28, 2019
Austin Detwiler, “Billionaire philanthropist, David Koch, dies at 79,” Philanthropy Daily, August 23, 2019
Tim Dickinson, “David Koch Built a Toxic Empire—with Human Consequences: David Koch is dead, but the Koch colossus lives on,” Rolling Stone, August 23, 2019
Brian Doherty, “David Koch, R.I.P.,” Reason, August 23, 2019
Adam Eichen, “How David Koch’s 1980 Fantasy Became America’s Current Reality,” The New Republic, August 27, 2019
Philip Elliott, “David Koch's Millions Remade the Republican Party. He Didn't Like the Results,” Time, August 23, 2019
Erick Erickson, “David Koch, RIP,” The Resurgent, August 23, 2019
Jim Geraghty, “R.I.P. David Koch,” National Review, August 23, 2019
Shane Goldmacher, “How David Koch and His Brother Shaped American Politics,” The New York Times, August 23, 2019
Jeet Heer, “Even David Koch’s Philanthropy Was Toxic,” The Nation, August 26, 2019
David Henderson, “David Koch, RIP,” The Library of Economics and Liberty, August 23, 2019
Bill Hewitt, “David Koch, billionaire industrialist who influenced conservative politics, dies at 79,” The Washington Post, August 23, 2019
Michael Hiltzik, “How MIT whitewashed the climate change denialism of a major donor, David Koch,” Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2019
Sarah Jones, “David Koch’s Monstrous Legacy,” New York, August 23, 2019
“Koch’s legacy: What to make of David Koch’s life,” New York Daily News, August 23, 2019 (Editorial Board)
Stephen Kruiser, “Lunatic Left-Wing Writer: David Koch Responsible for More Deaths Than Bin Laden or Saddam,” PJ Media, August 23, 2019
Christopher Leonard, “David Koch Was the Ultimate Climate Change Denier,” The New York Times, August 23, 2019
Eric Lutz, “David Koch, Influential Conservative Billionaire, Dead at 79,” Vanity Fair, August 23, 2019
Aaron Mak, “David Koch, Billionaire Businessman and Conservative Donor, Dies at 79,” Slate, August 23, 2019
Amery Manuel, “David Koch Dies at Age 79,” The American Spectator, August 23, 2019
Robert D. McFadden, “David Koch, Billionaire Who Fueled Right-Wing Movement, Dies at 79,” The New York Times, August 23, 2019
William McGurn, “David Koch’s Righteous Profits,” The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2019
Sara M. Moniusko, “Bill Maher gets candid about David Koch's death: 'I'm glad he's dead',” USA Today, August 24, 2019
Jay Nordlinger, “David Koch and His Name,” National Review, August 25, 2019
Henry Olsen, “David Koch helped build a libertarian empire. It turned out to be a paper tiger,” The Washington Post, August 23, 2019
Tyler O’Neil, “RIP David Koch, Businessman and Philanthropist, 1940-2019,” PJ Media, August 23, 2019
Azi Paybarh, “How David Koch Left His Mark on New York,” The New York Times, August 26, 2019
James Piereson and Naomi Schaefer Riley, “David Koch’s Philanthropic Legacy,” City Journal, August 26, 2019
Ed Pilkington, “The Kochtopus: sprawling network keeps David Koch's legacy thriving,” The Guardian, August 23, 2019
Graham Piro, “Left-Wing Journalists Celebrate David Koch’s Death on Twitter: ‘He’s dead? Oh well,” The Washington Free Beacon, August 23, 2019
Robin Pogebrin and Elizabeth A. Harris, “David Koch, Embraced as an Arts Patron, Even as Criticism Grew,” The New York Times, August 23, 2019
Andrew Prokop, “David Koch has died at 79. Here’s how he changed American politics,” Vox, August 23, 2019
Christine Ravold, “In Memoriam: David Koch: ‘Dark Money’ for Cancer and Culture,” Capital Research Center, August 23, 2019
Nathan Robinson, “The Koch brothers tried to build a plutocracy in the name of freedom,” The Guardian, August 28, 2019
Alexander Sammon, “David Koch’s Heirs Will Enjoy the Biggest Tax Loophole Nobody Talks About,” The American Prospect, August 28, 2019
Daniel Schulman, “Remembering the Two David Kochs,” Mother Jones, August 23, 2019
Shira Tarlo, “David Koch, the billionaire who reshaped American politics with this brother Charles, dies at 79,” Salon, August 23, 2019
Emmett Tyrrell, “David Koch: An Appreciation,” The American Spectator, August 28, 2019
Greg Weiner, “David Koch, Political Philanthropist,” Law & Liberty, August 30, 2019
Melanie Grayce West and John McCormick, “Billionaire David Koch, Who Used His Wealth to Reshape U.S. Politics, Dies at 79: Industrialist backed conservative causes and candidates; he also donated more than $1.3 billion to charity,” The Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2019
Kevin D. Williamson, “A Different Kind of ‘Right-Wing’,” National Review, August 25, 2019
Caitlin Yilek, “Billionaire conservative philanthropist David Koch dead at 79,” Washington Examiner, August 23, 2019
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