one of the big headlines out of the "forbes" 400 list this year is for charles and david koch, the koch brothers. their father, of course, invented a way to turn oil into gasoline. they inherited dad's company. and importantly, they did not take it public. it is a private company. which means that anything the company makes redo you understand redounds to them as individuals. their net worth jumping by more than 40% in the past year. the koch brothers are up to $50 billion in personal wealth right now. and that means as of this year charles and david koch as two people have more money than the gdp of sri lanka, slovenia, bulgaria, oman, tunisia, guatemala, uruguay, lebanon, serbia, uz zn, lithuania, costa rica, and all of the other countries that you see scrolling by you right now. if the koch brothers wanted to like buy samoa, not the cookie but the country, samoa's gdp is $565 million, which means that the koch brothers could personally buy roughly 88 samoas and still have change left over. the koch brothers -- look at the countries -- okay. the koch brothers have done really, really

koch says he thought stalin cook like -- and charles koch's father, fred koch, who found the john birchnhower administration and john kennedy as agents of the kremlin. it's troubling that -- >> wait a minute. his father said they would compare john kennedy and eisenhower as agents of the kremlin? >> not compare. directly accuse kennedy of being an agent of the kremlin. he wrote skreeving, gave -- >> so it's worse than compare. he's actually made the statement that they were? >> oh, sure. yes. >> if mr. koch senior and john f. kennedy felt that they were agents of the kremlin, i guess i shouldn't be stunned that their sons may be making some comparisons of barack obama and what's going on today. i mean, this is outrageous to me. >> well, you know, one thing to keep in mind, it's easy to associate charles koch, and charles schwab and billionaire donors at this meeting to the right-wing fringe, but i would say that they're crazy like a fox. you know, they fund tea party groups that push very out-there conspiracies like health reform being like the holocaust or the epa -- >> i'm going to ru

and this was founded by charles koch. in fact, the guy in charge of kato institute's program arguing how we should dismantle social security was the head of general pinoche social security privatization program. >> so i want to inject here on our side, we reached out to the koch brothers to respond to the revelation of the purchasing of ideas that the very people advocating them were fearful that they would be subjected to them, basically. they're saying they were trying to avoid it. the koch brothers as of yet have gotten back to us. i should point out, we only brought this to their attention a few hours ago, and i think it's appropriate we give them a little more time to consider what their response is. but it's important that the audience understands our relationship with not only this reporting, but with our respect for everybody, obviously, involved, to have an opportunity to comment. but go ahead, mark. >> i just wanted to say that these letters, it's not like there was a hacking situation or anything. these letters

that's coming up next. >>> and what happens at a koch brothers retreat stays at a koch brothers retreatil someone leaks the audio to a mother jones reporter. [ groans ] [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... how it's made and how it keeps your pet healthy and active. innova is the leader in holistic pet food. made with natural, high-quality proteins, whole grains, and farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, like apples and carrots, to give your pet more out of every ingredient. and we make innova the way you'd make it, with everything they need and nothing they don't. innova is pet food made right so can you feed them right. find it at your local pet store. possibilities are everywhere. multiply them with the premier rewards gold card from american express. with triple membership rewards points on airfare, double on gas, double on groceries, and a single point on everthing els

that's coming up next. >>> and what happens at a koch brothers retreat stays at a koch brothers retreat is until someone leaks the audio to a mother jones reporter. from $10,990. the all-new nissan versa sedan. innovation upsized. innovation for all. i could not make working and going to school work. it was not until the university of phoenix that i was able to work full-time, be a mom, and go to school. the opportunities that i had at the university of phoenix got me to where i am today. i'm mayor cherie wood, i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] university of phoenix is proud to sponsor education nation. because we believe an educated world is a better world. [ male announcer ] university of phoenix is proud to sponsor education nation. do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot? you should know about pradaxa. an important study showed that pradaxa 150mg reduced stroke risk 35% m

a bad defeat for the democrats. >> why did koch say what he said?he said it because many in the jewish community feel obama is unsympathetic to israel in a weigh way that for example george w. bush was not. and obama is not sympathetic to israel. >> is turner sympathetic to israel? >> i don't know where he was. but he is now. >> sign me up. >> president obama has tried to adjust the relationship more like president bush's father, george bush, he has tried to get talks going, they haven't succeeded. the un is about to vote on whether to approve of the palestinian's state and the united states vote will be against that, one of the few votes in the world. i don't think you can say this president is turning his back on israel. but israel is nervous because of the arab spring and the relationship with israel isn't what it was. the republicans managed to turn this into a backlash against president obama and the jewish community there has said you know, very conservative and also some economic anxiety. so the white house. >> uh-huh. >> has lots of excuses.

james hoffa knows what we're up against he knows that charles koch isn't afraid to shell out millions of bucks to win this war so what charles koch and the oligarchy fully committed to the struggle it's time for the rest of us to wake up and decide whose side we're on the billionaires or the rest of america. that's it for the big picture tonight for more information on the stories we covered visit our website to tom hartman dot com free speech dot org and archie dot com also check out our two you tube channel sarah links of thom hartmann dot com entire show is also available free video podcast and i tunes and we have a free thom hartmann i phone or an i pad app in the app store you can send us feedback on twitter at tom others for armin on facebook at tom underscore our of our blogs message boards and telephone comment line at tom hartman dot com and don't forget democracy begins with you get out there and get active tag you're it we'll see tomorrow. we'll. bring you the latest in science and technology from the realms of. the future coverage. will. remain your the latest in some inst

of bucks towards that we're effort pocket change to most of the oligarchy in the room what charles koch is referring to is the billionaires war against working people and it's this very same war the james hoffa spoke of yesterday and on my radio show today. there is a war on workers and anybody that doesn't know about the what our primary day started the war and i'm straight ok with somebody who's going to be a loser at a winner and we're going to be the winners big got they got that money we got the book we got the votes the battle lines are being drawn the billionaires are arming up at hoffa was urging working people to wake up and realize that it's a war against the new deal against the contract that our government made with all of us after world war two if we all work hard an honorable lawyer and lived honorable lives and we could achieve the american dream of a comfortable life we get the house the car the family the vacation the free education and a comfortable retirement at a reasonable age this social contract held strong for forty years in america from the thirty's to the seven

of the koch brothers twenty five billion dollars head of koch industries number five the other koch david koch twenty five billion dollars executive pete of koch industries now the interesting thing is that number seven we have to go to because he's a big name george soros twenty two billion dollars net worth up from fourteen. last year so he made quite a lot of money on what he did but the interesting thing is that all of those guys except for warren buffett who is network is a little lower than last year their net worth is all higher this year and it's not just the richest of the rich executive c.e.o. pay in two thousand and ten for example increase the median went up twenty seven percent according to a usa today analysis and then there's this floor of the five richest counties in the country according to the census data that just came out are in the d.c. area right around the nation's capital four out of the five meanwhile statistics have gotten worse across the board for middle class americans so for more earlier i spoke with the new trick of beingness economics blogger and r t

ed koch, the former mayor of new york endorsing the republican in that race. how worried does the president need to be about jewish voters, not just in new york but in other states like pennsylvania and florida where you have large swaths of jewish voters? >> well, pennsylvania and florida in particular, craig, i'd be very concerned if i were president obama. look ed koch, the former mayor came out and endorsed the republican candidate new york 9. remember back to 1976 and 1980 re-election for president carter, what you had there was a situation where you had ed koch going down to florida and going across the country and saying jimmy carter is not the president that needs to be re-elected. if i were president obama i would be concerned of ed koch and other prominent jewish officials and pro-israel backers come out and say this is not the president who is israel's friend. we need somebody else and a change. that's what the white house needs to do over the next 14 months to shore up the jewish support and that is not an assurance if i were sitting at 1600 pennsy

ed koch backed the republican candidate. did weprin get any endorsements? ♪ bob, ba, bob >> jon: that's bowser from sha-na-na. ask your parents to ask their parents. want to know how weak a candidate david weprin was? >> next tuesday morning i'm going to vote. there will probably be cameras around. i live in the district. what are you going to do? >> first of all, my mother lives in the district. i'll be happy to go with her to vote. >> jon: first of all, you don't live in the district you ran to represent, and two, you're happy to go with your mom to vote? sure. david, why are you walking so fast? we're going to vote, not put out a fire. by the way, you'll never believe who called me the other day, ed koch. he hates you. are you still running with that greaser from the act pell la gang? so there you have it. the democrats lose a congressional seat they held for 88 years. the great depression couldn't wrest the seat from their hand, world war ii, the red scare, even the reagan revolution. the only thing powerful enough to drive a wedge between the democrats

and drum roll, please, the richest man in all of new york, david koch of the famous koch brothers. we've known for some time the koch brothers are big fans of christie. he was a guest of the koch brothers at a summit outside of vail, colorado. they set up loud speakers on the periphery of the event to broadcast white noise, to broadcast static so nobody could listen in on the event. here's some of what they're apparently hoping to keep quiet. this is reportedly david koch praising governor chris christie. >> five months ago we met in my new york city office and spoke -- just the two of us -- for about two hours. at the end of our conversation, i said to myself, i'm really impressed and inspired by this man. he is my kind of guy. who knows? with his anonymous success in reforming new jersey, some day we might see him on a larger stage where god knows he is desperately needed. >> zillionaires like david koch who at one time were hoping to keep their chris christie light under a bushel are now apparently according to the press this week willing to be named as chris christie supporters

maybe he didn't check in with republicans or ed koch.on't we watch and hear what he had to say, congressman. >> okay. >> i think that standing your ground, taking this principle, which i think is the right position to achieve peace, i think this is a badge of honor, and i want to thank you for wearing that badge of honor, and also to express my hope that others will follow your example, mr. president, so i want to thank you for that. >> congressman rothman, it seems like some of those attacking the president here didn't check in with the people that are right there and on the front line of having to deal with this middle east crisis, when you see the heads of state of israel say that what he's doing is a badge of honor. >> well, reverend sharpton, i had the privilege of serving on the subcommittee, and the foreign -- and i can tell you what secretary of defense gates said, what the head of the joint chiefs of staff mike mullins said and what the israeli military and intelligence folks say, and that is that the military and intelligence c

brothers koch industries they get millions and millions of dollars in government subsidies how about all of the welfare queens to use ronald reagan's old phrase in business and industry shouldn't they be drug tested also. might be a bad idea but what's going to be the what are we going to hold back from them i mean right now that. right now we're hearing four billion dollars to these big oil companies exxon mobil will not get any more money if they're if we find out that their executives are using drugs or for that matter maybe we should look into whether their love david vitter whether they're using the d.c. madam i mean if we're going to really push this and i go to the rally to the left i think on to the left of you on that i'd rather just take away the big corporations welfare altogether. so. if you'd like to go everybody's wealth around. you know what i've done in favor of taking away i'm not in favor of taking away welfare ok then if your argument is that people on welfare but actually i'm not sure i understand your argument are you are you saying a that some people who are on

as in the koch brothers twenty five billion dollars and number five is the other koch david koch twenty five billion dollars net worth now the interesting thing all of those guys except for warren buffett have seen their net worth over the last year increased by billions of dollars and number seven is no exception we had to include him because it's such a big name george soros twenty two billion dollars up from fourteen billion dollars last year so quite a jump i don't know what these guys are doing right but more broadly when you look at executive pay in this country to kind of look at where that's gone in two thousand and ten and median pay increase substantially twenty seven percent according to usa today and now this is so that is a broad trend of the wealthy getting compensated more then there is this four of the five richest counties in the country are in the d.c. area law physics and gone worse for many middle class americans so i asked dimitri kristina's are our key contributor in economics blogger to connect the dots for me did he see any connection between the rich getting ric

the billionaire charles koch addresses a group.udio tape that he and his brother likely didn't want to you hear, he said this about the presidential election. >> we have saddam hussein, this is the mother of our world. we have the light of this country. i don't want to put any pressure on anyone here. this is not pressure. if this makes your heard feel glad, so be it. >> those remarks are reported in the magazine and the article claiming he was referring to president barack obama in his saddam hussein comment. a spokesman call that is a false claim taken out of context by the magazine. in an e-mail, the spokesman said he was not referring to president obama in his remarks. he was referring to the mother of all wars comment made by saddam hussein on the eve of the first gulf war. i asked the writer how he got the recording of charles koch. >> i was contacted after the event by someone who became a source. someone who was an insider and i developed a reputation over the years for reporting on whistle blowers and that's how the source

point like they really do anything where you are like what the koch brothers did why well i just you know what there's hypocrisy and and there's like really really bad doctor saying it's like come on the guy that is going to come over and he's everyone his economic theories tell him that they don't need the government is going to be lured by looking at government pamphlets absurd it's funny because a lot of conservatism conservatives are leveling a similar critique of liberals right now being like oh if you want higher taxes nothing stopping you from descending into check yourself to the government and you know you just do it like that so there's not a lot of difference here being well you know i hate social security but you know as long as it's there i don't know why i want fair taxes i want people who aren't paying taxes to pay their fair share i don't think that necessarily means that i need to pay for that you know exactly it's similar logic. all right whatever it takes a turn to get a rabbit but friday have a great weekend that's a good night's show thanks for tuning in to make

the koch brothers that's charles koch and then his brother david koch now the interesting thing is that oh and there's george soros number seven the interesting thing is all of these guys have seen their net worth except for warren buffett you lost a few billion all rest of them have seen their net worth increase kind of a quite a bit by billions of dollars compared to last year how is this happening earlier i spoke to carolyn hellbent professor of politics at occidental college and i also asked her because it's not just these richest guys it's just executive pay but when you look at a usa today analysis for example executive pay in two thousand and ten the median pay was twenty seven percent higher than the prior year so with that and these rich richest people in the world i asked how it's possible for them to be raking in all this dough which is that. well this is happening because we have a jobless recovery where corporations are making historic profits in most industries so of course the people who had up corporations are going to be making a bigger salary as well as major investors

he has the koch brothers. or is that a bridge too far. do you think he has the koch brothers?>> absolutely. the koch brothers would like chris christie vp and rick perry presidential campaign. >> if he has all this, what else does he need? he should be a shoe in from here on out. >> i think what he needs is for the americans not to understand what the man is about. we saw with george bush, sometimes the americans look to the camera and say he talks well, he looks like he's a smart guy, and by the end of the day, they end up getting it wrong. so he could win. >> and liz, i want to ask you, was there some saturday night material there? there were a few -- >> there was. >> there were a few gaps in some of the answers there. >> he was kind of thumb bell even a a bit. it's always fun when you can see him trying to think, see what his handlers were telling him, how he was supposed to be. trying to keep the posture. >> get that earpiece thing going. >> i think you're right. >> great to have you with us. tonight in the survey, i ask

he has the koch brothers. or is that a bridge too far. do you think he has the koch brothers? brothers would like chris christie vp and rick perry presidential campaign. >> if he has all this, what else does he need? he should be a shoe in from here on out. >> i think what he needs is for the americans not to understand what the man is about. we saw with george bush, sometimes the americans look to the camera and say he talks well, he looks like he's a smart guy, and by the end of the day, they end up getting it wrong. so he could win. >> and liz, i want to ask you, was there some saturday night material there? there were a few -- >> there was. >> there were a few gaps in some of the answers there. >> he was kind of thumb bell even a a bit.

i can see why ed koch is saying, let's bring a message how obama is not friends with israel. okay, well how will that fix the pothole outside my apartment in queens. >> the thing is i don't go to queens. that's not an issue for mee. not an issue for me at all. jaime, welcome to the program. people keep mentioning that obama -- this reflects a jewish problem. do you believe there is a jewish problem? and would this hurt him in 2012? >> it is hard for me to add to what they contributed to. let me give it a shot. there is a significant jewish population in this area. one area they are very big nationally in is florida. if this is indicative of what the jewish vote is doing, he will win a majority of it. but if it is in florida a significant group goes over to the republican candidate. he could have a serious problem. it is obviously crucial for the 2012 race. >> interesting. i always come to you for my political analysis. i am not going change now. we were obviously glued to the tv last night. in the green room you said under your breath, prove that the jews control everything.

koch industries.have about $25 billion each. in the third spot we have man, larry ellison, founder of business software giant oracle, worth some $33 billion. in the penultimate place we have warren buffett worth an estimated $39 billion. even he is eclipsed by this man's fortune, bill gates, reportedly worth $20 billion more than buffett. his fortune stands at just shy of $60 billion. we should also point out, manisha, those last two characters on the list, buffett and gates, in spite of being some of the world's most rich people, have said they're going to be giving almost all of that to charity. >> they were recently on a tour, they went to india recently and said particularly in a country where more and more billionaires are emerging, they were saying people need to give more that philanthropic causes. whatever they're doing, we should be taking notes. mr. gates has been making more money amid all the volatility, he's definitely doing something right. anyway, we'll have to figure that out. >>> sizi

new york city mayor koch revered in this city. he supported bob turner and he's speaking now. >> greta: which is extraordinary. former democratic mayor supporting him. eric, thank you. >> straight ahead, former governor paw:city out of the race for the white house. but he is -- pawlenty is out of the race for the white house, but he is making news. vice president cheney and his daughter liz go on the record. what happened between the for sunsweet, growing the perfect prune plum is an art form. and now, after nearly a hundred years working hand in hand with nature, we present a true masterpiece: d'noir prunes from sunsweet. excellent. they're delicious. that is really good. i'm definitely hooked. absolutely perfect. and now, we invite you to try a plum masterpiece. d'lightful, d'licious, d'noir prunes, only from sunsweet. can become romantic just like that. a spark might come from -- a touch, a glance -- it can come along anywhere, anytime. and wh it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be r

you can't get ed koch in every district. in nevada, think about this, carried by john mccain in the 2008 election by 88 votes. that was his margin. in this election the democrats had a candidate they thought was picture perfect, had gobs of money, great at executing the playbook ran an ad saying her republican opponent wanted to end medicare to pay for tax breaks for millionaires. and they ran that hard and heavy. and he won by 28,000 votes. think about that swing. he had a 20 -- 22 point victory in a district that was 49-49 in 2008 in the presidential race. if the democrat playbook they got the best candidate. they don't have issues like the president's policy on israel dominating in a district with a lot of orthodox jews, all the excuses they gave for new york were not present in nevada, yet they got creamed. i have to say i'm affiliated with a group called american cross roads that spent $265,000 to help bury marshall under a barrage of early ballots by republicans. >> sean: fair enough. the field poll comes out in califo

the conclusion to hate i mean again you talk of the tea party i mean how much how much money of the koch brothers are billionaires pumped into these kinds of messages that he never grants or are there because there are only two ordinary was still you there you can order it liberal group advancing an agenda but if we have ever we have hundred thirty million people in dancing in the whatever we're going to do here the key when the advancing those ideas exactly when a billionaire puts money george lucas has put way let me tell you it was thought because i think we agree with it when a billionaire puts money into conservative causes they make a profit if the koch brothers invest one hundred million dollars the greed of making sure the axis get cut they get that money back with regulations on the other hand what are your soros puts on a million dollars and a bit of good yes absolutely none of this is that as you go up against us your last spot here and see advances transparency the tune of tens of millions of dollars and then sends back the money from all of his private funds because he doesn

time on the right side and sometimes even on the left side and i'm not addressing that issue yes the koch brothers are obviously human beings and they can spend money to promote their ideas and that is separate from what i'm saying i'm talking about corporations which occurred at the system all right well we certainly appreciate you coming on and explaining to us why especially as they play such a role which you may not imagine at first when you talk about the anniversary of nine eleven thanks frank. thank you. and coming out a silent protest during obama's jobs speech earns a lawmaker it's night school time award then we'll dive into adama's jobs plan to vote for any of his proposals actually bring jobs to the millions out of work here in the u.s. back in a moment. into it only a military mechanism if you don't work to bring justice and accountability. i have every right to know what my government should do if you want to know why i pay taxes. i would characterize obama as a charismatic version of american exceptionalism. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so bleak you think

they disclosed a letter between frederic hayek, the nobel laureate, and koch.ayek, the noble laureate who was being hired to advocate for the disassembly of the american -- or of any socialized system of social security or health was very concerned for his own health and social security and charles koch assured him that he, himself, would have the benefits of social security. it's just that those down the line would not. i'm less concerned about the scandal of that interaction than i am about the assertion that money has not only influenced our politics, but is now actually purchasing ideas through think tanks and is infecting the entire polarity of debate. >> dylan, i have to tell you, that's old news. right-wing money from the koch brothers and from other right wingers has created -- they literally have created a number of right-wing think tanks, and those guys are on tv, they're in the newspapers every day, pushing the corporate agenda, pushing the agenda for the wealthiest people in this country. >> last question and i'll let you go, senator. what do you th

that twenty five billion dollars after that david koch his brother twenty five billion executive v.p. of coke industries an interesting thing all of those people and number seven who want to highlight because he's a big name george soros twenty two billion net worth all of these people saw their wealth increase by billions of dollars with us. exception of warren buffett so he might be the outlier still here in pretty well but they're still making a ton of money to help explain why. blogger an r t contributor is here thanks for being here dimitri ok so far four hundred less came out billionaires are still making tons of money the rest of the economy average folks not doing so well so how is this possible i mean if there are some people who are going to make a lot of money like steve jobs and a lot of money he provides a lot of products so i think there's a difference between someone like steve jobs making a lot of money or bill gates and someone like george soros who makes money from barga volatility so so you're saying that there's no trend that you see here as to their performance s

we don't get that at all ok well we're almost out of time but just look i said i mean yes or no the koch brothers they're people too i mean they contribute a lot warren buffett you're the guy for soros yeah that's fair and there's a whole separate question and we've had rich people in this country trying to influence our politics for a long time on the right side and sometimes even on the left side and i'm not addressing that issue yes the koch brothers are human beings and they can spend money to promote their ideas that is separate from what i'm saying i'm talking about corporations which is perverted the system all right well we certainly appreciate you coming on and explain to us why especially as they play such a role which you may not and maginot first when you talk about the anniversary of nine eleven thanks thank. thank you. and coming up a silent protest during obama's jobs speech or into lawmakers night school time award then we'll dive into obama's jobs plan a vote any of his proposals actually bring jobs to the millions out of work here in the u.s. back in a moment. into that

this last night the event was hosted by right wing activists billionaire brothers charles and david koch and today mother jones magazine obtained audio from this top secret strategy session. does this audiotape alice i mean does this prove that they're just in it to win it at all costs. now now you really want to gloat but tonight i'm going to go for it i'm going to go ahead and say told you so i can't tell whether it's amusing or their it's sad that the mainstream media is just so predictable but you know whatever let's move on today where predictability it once again shines through and tonight there's going to be another republican presidential candidate debate even though the debate hasn't happened yet even though there are plenty of other things to fill the news cycle with we're already just hearing nonstop debate coverage and everybody's talking about it we're going to specifically pick on m.s.n. b.c. for just another minute here since the debates airing on their network and so they are just pimping this thing out like a little teenage girl with a lollipop. publican presidential can

time on the right side and sometimes even on the left side and i'm not addressing that issue yes the koch brothers are obviously human beings and they can spend money to promote their ideas that is separate from what i'm saying i'm talking about corporations which are perverted the system all right well we certainly appreciate you coming on and explaining to us why especially as they play such a role which you may not imagine at first when you talk about the anniversary of nine eleven thanks frank. thank you. and coming out a silent protest during obama's jobs speech earns a lawmaker tonight's told time award then will dive into a bomb a jobs plan any of his proposals actually bring jobs to the millions out of work here in the u.s. back in a moment. i had no idea and this is coming to you live from moscow the headline. as they've been rebel stance storming some of the last proof get out his strongholds and siding has replaced celebration among some tribute residents with fears of only keep growing as the new regime replaces the old. also the direction interior ministry has declared a stat