Although nobody agrees with me, I am of the opinion that the only sound countries in the world are Germany, Italy, and Japan, simply because they are all working and working hard. The laboring people in these countries are proportionately much better off than they are any place else in the world. When you contrast the state of mind of Germany today with what it was in 1925 you begin to think that perhaps this course of idleness, feeding at the public trough, dependence on government, etc., with which we are afflicted is not permanent and can be overcome.
-- Fred Koch (chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote defines Koch family patriarch Fred Koch's early inclinations on his disapproval of public welfare programs.

Philanthropy, with its guarantees of anonymity, because their chosen instrument.
-- Jane Mayer (chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote describes what Mayer refers to throughout the first section of her book as the weaponization of philanthropy.

The rich are inevitably going to...
-- Richard Mellon Scaife (chapter 2 paragraph 2)