One usually doesn't associate the right-wing platform-backing Koch brothers with liberal Hollywood, but they liked the idea of Wonder Woman enough to back the blockbuster film-and the return on investment might be better than oil right now.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Charles and David Koch invested tens of millions of dollars in private company RatPac-Dune Entertainment back in 2013, as part of a slate financing facility worth US$450 million. The Koch brothers were brought in to the deal by incumbent Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in an agreement that was not disclosed because RatPac-Dune Entertainment is a private company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mnuchin has put his stake in a blind trust and is no longer involved in the financing facility to avoid conflict of interest, but the Koch brothers are still shareholders and own stakes in films including 'Wonder Woman' and 'Dunkirk', as well as Steven Spielberg's 'Ready Player One' slated for release in 2018.
"Charles Koch, David Koch and Koch Industries do not have any involvement with this investment," a spokesperson told THR.
But according to THR's sources, other investors in that Warner Bros deal included Bill Gates, whose financial commitment is reportedly a similar amount to that of the Kochs.
According to the Forbes 2017 ranking of America's largest private companies, Koch Industries is no.2, behind Cargill. Koch Industries has annual sales of around US$100 billion and is invested in many industries including refining, chemicals and biofuels, commodity trading, minerals, and energy.
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Meanwhile, 'Wonder Woman' last week crossed the US$400-million mark at the North American box office, only the 27th movie to have done so.
'Wonder Woman' is also Warner Bros' third-highest box office movie in the U.S., and in June became the world's highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More