Reading philosophy and economic theory, Charles Koch turns his business acumen and ambition to the spread of research ideas. From the article and interview:

Polanyi’s “The Republic of Science: Its Political and Economic Theory,” published in 1962, is the text that best illustrates what Koch is trying to do with his massive personal fortune — and the contradictions and controversies that come with it. That paper argues that science should function like an economic market, with research dollars flowing to the very best scholars and ideas, as determined by scientific consensus. It has guided Koch’s effort to donate more than $200 million to colleges and universities, an effort that he plans to accelerate in the coming years and that will continue to shape academic research and student learning long after the effects of his political giving have faded.