Suit Over Cato Institute Shares

Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch have filed suit in Kansas over the ownership of Cato Institute, a Washington based research organization that promotes small-government, free-market policies. The suit revolves around the 25% ownership interest Institute once owned by William Niskanen, a former chairman. After his death, Niskanen’s wife inherited his shares, and the Koch brothers assert that, according to the shareholder’s agreement, Niskanen’s wife must return the shares to the Institute.

If the Koch brothers win their suit, the Institute will have only three stockholders—the brothers and Ed Crane, the Institute’s president and chief executive officer (Crane is also a defendant in the suit). Crane has described the suit as an attempt at a “hostile takeover” and an effort to “transform Cato from an independent, nonpartisan research organization into a political entity that might better support  [Charles Koch’s] partisan agenda.”

See John Hanna, Koch Brothers File Lawsuit Over The Ownership of the Cato Institute, The Huffington Post, Mar. 1, 2012. 

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.