Bill Maher held nothing back when commenting on the death of billionaire conservative David Koch during the opening monologue his HBO talk show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Friday.
David, who died Friday after a long battle with prostate cancer, and his brother Charles Koch were among the biggest donors to the Republican Party for decades. They built their billions as co-owners of Koch Industries, an oil, chemical and textiles conglomerate.
Maher opened his show with a series of dark jokes referencing the fact that the Kochs had donated millions to fund climate change-denying research and politicians, believed to be an attempt at further increasing their fortune via sales of fossil fuels.
Bill Maher opened his HBO talk show with a series of jokes about David Koch’s death, then turned serious and said ‘f**k him…I’m glad he’s dead’ over his climate change-denying stance
‘I guess I’m going to have to reevaluate my low opinion of prostate cancer,’ Maher said, adding that David ‘was 79, but his family says they wish it could be longer. But at least he lived long enough to see the Amazon catch fire.’
Maher went on to joke that ‘Condolences poured in from all the politicians he owned and mourners are being asked in lieu of flowers to just keep their car engine running. As for his remains, he’s asked to be cremated and have his ashes blown into a child’s lungs.’
Maher then turned serious.
David ‘and his brother have done more than anybody to fund climate science deniers for decades, so f**k him. The Amazon is burning up. I’m glad he’s dead. And I hope the end was painful.’
Maher wasn’t the only celebrity that took vicious digs at David Koch following news of his death.
On Friday, Bette Midler, who hasn’t been shy in sharing her political opinions, posted a cruel Tweet calling it ‘wistful thinking’ that she believed that Charles had also passed away.
Maher tweeted out the Real Talk with Bill Maher opening along with this joke Saturday
Billionaire businessman David Koch of the infamous Koch brothers died at age 79 Friday
David Koch, right, with older brother Charles, left, on Morning Joe in November 2015
Bette Midler was among those who shared nasty tweets celebrating the death of David Koch on Friday
‘I tweeted #CharlesKoch had died, instead of #DavidKochIsDEAD. I’m sorry to give others false hope. Guess it was just wistful thinking. As we watch the Amazon Rainforest burning, all the #GlobalWarming culprits are foremost in one’s mind,’ the 73-year-old wrote.
Later, she lashed out conservative think tank president Kay Coles James, who paid tribute to David on her own Twitter account by describing him as ‘a friend of liberty’.
‘With all due respect, Ms. James, f**k you. A ‘friend of liberty’. Yes, his own and his family’s. The rest of us can drink leaded water and burn in the climate change he produced,’ Midler raged.
The Hocus Pocus actress wasn’t the only person to celebrate the death of David on Friday.
Others posted mean tweets in which they, too, taunted Charles, who is aged 83, about his future death.
Hundred of people shared cruel – and in some cases vile – messages celebrating David’s death
Writer Sandra Newman wrote: ‘Today Charles Koch is learning how overjoyed the world will be when he dies’.
Meanwhile, former Democratic candidate for Florida’s 18th Congressional District – who lost her primary bid in 2018 – wrote that she ‘pitied’ the late David Koch.
‘Good riddance Mr. Koch… The world fills a smidge lighter w/out you.’
However, not all outspoken Democrats and left-wing activists agreed.
Alyssa Milano – who is known for being an outspoken progressive – chided those who were posting gleeful messages.
‘Celebrating a man’s death while fighting to abolish the death penalty is a bad look for Democrats/humans’, she posted.
Alyssa Milano – who is known for being an outspoken progressive – chided those who were posting gleeful messages
Elsewhere, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro claimed the mean tweets were ‘a perfect example of how poisonous our politics have become.’
Along with his brother, Charles, David built his fortune as the co-owner of Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in the US. Both men had an estimated fortune of $50.5 billion, tying them as the equal 11th richest men in the world.
The Koch brothers have been among the biggest donors to the Republican Party since the 1980s- attracting the ire of many liberals, some of whom celebrated David’s death on Twitter.
David Koch is survived by his wife, Julia, and their three children: David Jr, Mary Julia, and John Mark.
On Friday, Julia Koch said in a statement: ‘While we mourn the loss of our hero, we remember his iconic laughter, insatiable curiosity, and gentle heart. His stories of childhood adventures enlivened our family dinners; his endless knowledge rendered him our “walking Google”.
‘His sensitive heart had him shed a tear at the beauty of his daughter’s ballet, and beam with pride when his son beat him at chess. We will miss the fifth link in our family.’
Details surrounding Koch’s death including the time, place and cause are unclear. He is survived by his wife, Julia, and their three children. Pictured: Koch at the 13th Annual Prostate Cancer Foundation Gala in Water Mill, New York, August 2017, left; and with his wife, Julia, at The School of American Ballet’s Winter Ball at the David H Koch Theater in New York City, March 2017, right
David Koch built his fortune with Koch Industries, an oil, chemical and textiles conglomerate, based in the brothers’ hometown of Wichita, Kansas.
It is currently the second-largest privately held company in the US, with Charles, the current CEO, saying it would go public ‘literally over my dead body’, reported The Economist.
In June 2018, David stepped down from the company, citing health issues.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1992, which be battled on and off for years. At the time, he was given five months to live.
‘David liked to say that a combination of brilliant doctors, state-of-the-art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay,’ Charles Koch’s statement read.
‘We can all be grateful that it did, because he was able to touch so many more lives as a result.’
According to Forbes magazine, David Koch’s net worth was $50.5billion at the time of his death making him the 11th richest person in the world – tied with his brother.
He was reportedly the seventh richest person in the US – tied with Charles again – and the wealthiest resident of New York City.
The brothers’ combined wealth is believed to have exceeded the wealth of the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, the founder, chairman, CEO, and president of Amazon.com Inc.
In addition to New York City, David Koch had homes in Southampton, New York, Aspen, Colorado, and Palm Beach, Florida.
The brothers began their political journey backing hard-line Libertarian causes in the late seventies, culminating in David’s run as the vice-presidential candidate on the Libertarian Party ticket in the 1980 presidential election.
He and presidential candidate Ed Clark ran on a platform that called for the abolition of Social Security, the IRS, the Federal Reserve, the FBI, the CIA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
They were also against public spending, including public schools, Medicare and Medicaid.
As a message, it failed to resonate, and the ticket received only one percent, with Ronald Reagan going on to defeat incumbent President Jimmy Carter.
Koch was born in Wichita, Kansas, in May 1940 and is a twin to Bill Koch. Pictured, left to right: Bill Koch, Charles Koch, David Koch and Frederick Koch, undated
He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pictured, left to right: Bill Koch, Charles Koch, and David Koch, undated
Koch joined Koch Industries, founded by his father, in 1970. Pictured: Mother Mary, sitting; back row, from left to right: Bill Koch, David Koch, father Fred Koch, Charles Koch and Frederick Koch
Since the 1980s, the Koch brothers have used their enormous fortune to bankroll their own conservative political machine, creating a vast empire of organizations and advocacy groups that entrenched the post-Reagan GOP as the party of tax cuts and scant regulation.
In doing so, they became the bête noire for many Democratic and environmental activists, who bemoaned the tentacles of the ‘kochtopus’ and its outsized influence on conservative politics.
Environmental activists criticized the pair for funding political campaigns that focused on rolling back environmental regulations and being the primary sponsors of climate change denial in the US.
They spent millions funding climate change-denying research, think tanks and politicians – which analysts believe was to expand their fossil fuel fortunes.
Koch Industries has paid millions in penalties and fines for oil spills, discharging toxic chemicals and violating other environmental regulations.
According to advocacy group Good Jobs First, the company has paid more than $749million in environmental violations since 2000.
The Koch brothers advocated for reduced government spending and limited involvement in wars overseas, and analysts believe they helped give rise to the Tea Party movement.
In a Weekly Standard interview in 2011, David Koch called then-President Barack Obama ‘the most radical president we’ve ever had as a nation’ and accused him of having ‘done more damage to the free enterprise system and long-term prosperity than any president we’ve ever had’, reported CNBC.
Koch ran as the vice-presidential candidate on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1980, but only received one percent of the vote. Pictured, left to right: David, presidential candidate Ed Clark, and Clark’s wife Alicia Garcia Cobos de Clark, during a rally in Los Angeles, September 1980
He gave $100 million to the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center – subsequently renamed the David H Koch Theater. Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker and David Koch at the opening night dinner party of the 2008-2009 New York City Ballet in November 2008
Koch is believed to have contributed at least $395million to medical institutions and research projects between 1998 and 2012. Pictured, left to right: Margo Langenberg, Frederick Koch, David Koch, Julia Koch at The School of American Ballet Winter Ball, March 2017
The Koch brothers funded nonprofits such as Americans for Prosperity, which advocated for lower taxes and fewer business regulation.
However, the brothers have clashed with Republican President Donald Trump, and backed his rivals for the 2016 Republican nomination.
They ran ads opposing the import tariffs Trump implemented on goods arriving from Canada, the European Union and Mexico.
The brothers were also supporters of the Obama-era Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and criticized the Trump administration for failing to provide a legal, easy path to citizenship status for young undocumented immigrants.
David Koch was also a supporter of woman’s right to an abortion, same-sex marriage and prison reform.
The brothers had hinted that they would be open to supporting Democrats in the 2020 election.
In addition to being a political donor, David Koch was also a philanthropist.
He gave $100 million to the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center – subsequently renamed the David H Koch Theater – and $65 million to renovate the plaza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
David also gave money to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and the dinosaur wing at the American Museum of Natural History.
New York-Presbyterian’s ambulatory center and the Natural History museum’s dinosaur wing are also named after him.
David is believed to have contributed at least $395million to various medical institutions and research projects between 1998 and 2012.
In total, between the arts and medical fields, he is estimated to have donated between $1.2billion and $1.3billion of his fortune.
Koch married his wife, Julia Flescher, a former Adolfo assistant, in 1996. Pictured: The couple at their wedding in Long Island