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David Koch Takes Title Of Richest NYer (Bloomberg Is 2nd)
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 23, 2010
Modified Sep 23, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 23, 2010
Modified Sep 23, 2010
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Michael Bloomberg may have a few more years as the mayor of New York, but his reign as the richest New Yorker (according to Forbes) is over: The new Big Apple fat cat is David Koch, the oilman and Tea Party backer, who you may be more familiar with after this New Yorker profile (besides oil refineries, "Koch Industries owns Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra, among other products").
While Bloomberg's fortune grew from $17.5 billion to $18 billion—even after blowing $100 million on that mayoral election—Koch's "swelled to $21.5 billion from $16 billion," all courtesy of high energy prices. Koch and his brother Charles are fifth on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans while Bloomberg is at number 10.
The Koch brothers deny financing the Tea Party while espousing libertarian ideals, but the Observer had this handy guide to seven ways the Kochs benefit with corporate welfare.
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david koch
economy
forbes
mayor bloomberg
rich
richest
tea party
wealth
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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