How Koch Brothers Funded Rise of the Far Right

In her new book, "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right," New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer explores how the Koch brothers and fellow right-wing billionaires have funded a political machine aimed at shaping elections and public policy. The book contains a number of revelations and new details. Mayer begins with revealing that the Kochs’ father, industrialist Fred Koch, helped build an oil refinery in Nazi Germany — a project approved personally by Adolf Hitler. The refinery was critical to the Nazi war effort, fueling German warplanes.

Photo: Americans for Prosperity Foundation chairman and Koch Industries Executive Vice President David H. Koch (2nd L) gives a thumbs-up to Republican presidential candidate and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain during the Defending the American Dream Summit at the Washington Convention Center November 4, 2011 in Washington, DC. The conservative political summit is organized by Americans for Prosperity, which was founded with the support of Koch and his brother Charles Koch. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images