“The most dangerous thing in the world is wealth without accountability.”
— Naomi Klein

Introduction

The term “Koch brothers” has become synonymous with vast wealth and political influence. Yet, few grasp the depth of their impact on American democracy. This isn’t merely a tale of two billionaires; it’s about how they crafted a blueprint for corporate dominance over democracy—a blueprint now wielded by oligarchs like Peter Thiel, Robert Mercer, and Elon Musk.democrats.org+1investopedia.com+1

This is the blueprint for the billionaire coup.

1. The Supreme Court Takeover — How the Kochs Installed Their Judges

If you’ve ever wondered why the Supreme Court keeps siding with corporations over workers, look no further than the Federalist Society, a Koch-funded pipeline for handpicking Supreme Court justices.

📌 How it worked:

• The Kochs spent decades grooming right-wing judges who would prioritize corporate power over democratic protections.
• Their crown jewel? Citizens United — the Supreme Court ruling that legalized unlimited dark money in elections.
• Every major conservative justice on the Court today—Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett—came through Koch-backed networks.

Result: A politicized Supreme Court that protects corporations, billionaires, and religious extremists over democracy itself.

2. Christian Nationalism Wasn’t Grassroots — It Was Engineered

The Kochs don’t actually care about religion…
They care about power.

📌 How they weaponized Christian nationalism:

• They funded right-wing religious groups to create an army of single-issue voters who would support corporate-friendly candidates in the name of God.
• They backed evangelical leaders who pushed policies favorable to billionaires, like deregulation and tax cuts.
• Project 2025 is a direct extension of this strategy. And the end of separation of church and state in American democracy.

📌 Endgame: A religiously influenced autocracy where billionaire interests are safeguarded under the guise of moral governance. (If you’re struggling with this concept, Google: divine right of kings.)

To learn more of what to expect under a Right-wing Christian dictatorship, See Spain under Franco.

3. Citizens United & the Billionaire Dark Money Power Grab

Before 2010, billionaires had some restrictions on buying elections outright. Then came Citizens United, the Supreme Court ruling that turned elections into corporate auctions. The landmark Citizens United ruling, which the Koch network fervently supported, has allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections, effectively drowning out individual voices (you and I) in the political arena.

📌 What it did:

• Legalized unlimited campaign spending by billionaires, corporations, and dark money PACs.
• Allowed foreign-influenced money to pour into U.S. elections through shell corporations.
• Destroyed transparency, making it nearly impossible to track who is funding what.

Who won? Billionaires like the Kochs, Mercer, and Thiel. Without the Citizens United ruling, Musk wouldn’t have been able to waltz in and buy the 2024 election for Trump.
Who lost? American democracy.

4. The New Oligarchy: How Thiel, Musk, and Mercer Are Using the Koch Playbook

The billionaire coup didn’t end with the Kochs—it evolved. The strategies pioneered by the Kochs have been adopted and adapted by a new generation of tech moguls. Peter Thiel’s involvement in political financing and policy influence mirrors the Kochs’ methods. Elon Musk’s recent political engagements further exemplify this trend. ​lemonde.fr

📌 How the new generation of oligarchs adapted the Koch model:

• Peter Thiel—Using tech and AI instead of oil money to manipulate elections.
• Elon Musk—Controlling the digital public square (Twitter/X, Starlink) instead of courts and legislatures.
• Robert Mercer—Pioneering data-driven voter manipulation (Cambridge Analytica) instead of state-based lobbying.

The new billionaire class isn’t just controlling government—they’re replacing it with private, corporate rule.

Final Verdict — The Billionaire Coup is in Its Endgame

The Kochs wrote the playbook.
Thiel, Musk, and Mercer are running the final chapters.

If we don’t fight back now, we won’t just lose democracy—we’ll live under a system where billionaires are the only rulers that matter.

📌 Join the fight. Read more in the Putin’s Playbook series:
👉 [Read the Putin’s Playbook series from the beginning…]

• Chapter 5: Delve deeper into the rise of the American oligarch class in Chapter 5: The Rise of the Oligarch Class — How Russian Money Bought American Influence.​
• Chapter 6: Understand the culmination of these strategies in Chapter 6: Internal Sabotage Meets Russian Objectives.