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This was supposed to be the year that the American billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch, bought the presidency in their zealous bid to reshape the United States into a libertarian utopia.

Another Republican billionaire ended that dream. Donald Trump refused to seek either their backing or their blessing.

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On the Democratic Party side, outsider Bernie Sanders nearly derailed the well-funded hopes of Hillary Clinton with his appeal to get big money out of politics.

But it’s folly to take this as evidence that money — especially “dark money” — isn’t a factor, says investigative reporter Jane Mayer.

The Koch brothers are the fifth richest people in the world, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $41 billion. They are at the centre of a tangled web of non-profit organizations and foundations that are spending $750 million this electoral season. That’s nearly equal to the campaign budgets of the Republican and Democratic parties.