This section includes the first real comprehensive look at the astronomical profits Koch generated in the commodities markets, its purchase of Georgia-Pacific, and its participation in the events that created the 2000 California electricity crisis. The second part focuses on Koch's diversification into the financial sector, as the company begins leveraging its extensive infrastructure and commodity holdings to take advantage of booming financial markets in the 1990s and 2000s. Also detailed are Koch's extensive union-busting activities, a battle for control of the company between Charles Koch and his brothers, and the story of Koch's first major setback with the disastrous 1996 purchase of Purina Mills (which Koch sold after 5 turbulent years) It traces the corporate history through the 70s and 80s as Koch grows the company and structures it in such a way that its profits rely mostly on volatility within the petroleum industry (meaning Koch makes money when oil prices go down as well as up). The first part of is devoted to the history of Koch Industries, beginning with Charles Koch's assumption of leadership after the death of his father Fred in 1967.

Leonard traces the history of Koch Industries from a regional pipeline company to a sprawling corporate entity with 'a political-influence machine of rare scope'. Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America is a 2019 book by Christopher Leonard that uses a deeply-researched account of how Koch Industries became one of the biggest private companies in the world to tell the story of corporate power in modern America.

The secret history of koch industries