Capture lane

Corporate Capture

The Corporate Capture capture lane traces 576 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

576 events From Sep 4, 1872 To Jul 27, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1142–2026
Top actors in Corporate Capture114511501155116011651170117511801185119011951200120512101215122012251230123512401245125012551260126512701275128012851290129513001305131013151320132513301335134013451350135513601365137013751380138513901395140014051410141514201425143014351440144514501455146014651470147514801485149014951500150515101515152015251530153515401545155015551560156515701575158015851590159516001605161016151620162516301635164016451650165516601665167016751680168516901695170017051710171517201725173017351740174517501755176017651770177517801785179017951800180518101815182018251830183518401845185018551860186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0Donald Trump1452 eventsMcKinsey & CompanySecurities and Exchange Commission80 eventsTrump Administration367 eventsFederal Trade Commission71 eventsInternational Monetary FundWorld Liberty Financial58 eventsDepartment of Justice355 eventsElizabeth Warren69 eventsWorld Bank
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2003-06-06Oracle Launches Hostile Takeover Bid for PeopleSoft Worth $5.1 Billion 3 src
Oracle · Larry Ellison · PeopleSoft
confirmed
2003-05-01Palantir Technologies Founded by Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, and PayPal Engineers 3 src
Peter Thiel · Alex Karp · Joe Lonsdale · John Poindexter · +2
confirmed
2003-01-01Google Establishes "Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich" Tax Avoidance Structure 4 src
Google · Larry Page
confirmed
2003-01-01State Policy Network Organizational Profile: Coordinating 66 State Think Tanks for Synchronized Corporate Capture 4 src
State Policy Network · Bradley Foundation · DonorsTrust · Mackinac Center · +2
confirmed
2002-09-12Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski Indicted for $600 Million Fraud 3 src confirmed
2002-07-31Entergy Purchases Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant for $180 Million, Memorandum of Understanding Creates Decade of Regulatory Conflict 3 src confirmed
2002-07-30Sarbanes-Oxley Act Signed Into Law as Brief Reform Moment 3 src
George W. Bush
confirmed
2002-07-21WorldCom Files for Bankruptcy with $107 Billion in Assets 3 src
Bernard Ebbers
confirmed
2002-06-25WorldCom Announces $3.8 Billion Accounting Fraud Discovery 3 src
Bernard Ebbers
confirmed
2002-06-15Arthur Andersen Convicted, Destroying 85,000 Jobs Worldwide 3 src
Arthur Andersen · Department of Justice
confirmed
2002-03-14Arthur Andersen Indicted for Obstruction of Justice in Enron Scandal 3 src
Arthur Andersen · Department of Justice · Michael Chertoff
confirmed
2002-01-09Arthur Andersen Admits to Shredding Tons of Enron Documents 3 src
Arthur Andersen
confirmed
2002-01-08No Child Left Behind Act Creates Testing-Industrial Complex and Punitive Accountability Regime 3 src
George W. Bush · Ted Kennedy
confirmed
2002-01-01ALEC Adopts Living Wage Mandate Preemption Act to Block Local Minimum Wage Increases 3 src
American Legislative Exchange Council
confirmed
2002-01-01Insulin Prices Begin Tripling 2002-2013 as Three Manufacturers Control 99% of Market - From $231 to $762 Annually 4 src
Eli Lilly · Novo Nordisk · Sanofi · Big Pharma
confirmed
2001-12-02Enron Bankruptcy After Energy Task Force Meetings 3 src
Dick Cheney · Kenneth Lay · Jeffrey Skilling · Andrew Fastow
confirmed
2001-10-22SEC Launches Investigation Into Enron's Related-Party Transactions 3 src
Securities and Exchange Commission · Andrew Fastow · Kenneth Lay
confirmed
2001-10-16Enron Reports $618 Million Loss and Reveals CFO Partnership Schemes 3 src
Kenneth Lay · Jeffrey Skilling · Andrew Fastow
confirmed
2001-09-04Oracle Hires CIA Executive Director David Carney, Establishes Information Assurance Center 3 src
Oracle · Central Intelligence Agency · Larry Ellison
confirmed
2001-05-31Air Force Secretary James Roche Appointed After 17 Years as Northrop Grumman Executive 3 src
Northrop Grumman · U.S. Air Force · U.S. Department of Defense · George W. Bush
confirmed
2001-05-17National Energy Policy Adopts Enron Recommendations Verbatim 3 src
Dick Cheney · George W. Bush · Enron · Kenneth Lay · +1
confirmed
2001-04-17Kenneth Lay's Influence on Cheney Energy Task Force: Corporate Policy Capture 4 src
Kenneth Lay · Dick Cheney · George W. Bush · Enron Corporation
confirmed
2001-02-09Cheney Energy Task Force Begins Secret Meetings with Enron Executives 4 src
Dick Cheney · Kenneth Lay · George W. Bush
confirmed
2001-01-01Bush and Obama Administrations Cement Bipartisan Chicago School Antitrust Consensus, Approve Historic Consolidation 4 src
George W. Bush · Barack Obama · Department of Justice · Federal Trade Commission
confirmed
2001-01-01Purdue Pharma Bonus System Incentivizes Sales Reps to Target Highest Opioid Prescribers 3 src
Purdue Pharma · Sackler Family
confirmed
2000-08-30Clear Channel Acquires AMFM Inc. Creating Radio Monopoly with Over 1,200 Stations 4 src
Clear Channel Communications · Lowry Mays
confirmed
2000-05-05ALEC's 'Environmental Literacy Improvement Act' Mandates Teaching Climate Denial in Schools 4 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Heartland Institute · Koch Industries · ExxonMobil · +3
confirmed
2000-02-01Halliburton Opens Tehran Office While Cheney Still CEO, Completing $40 Million Annual Iran Business Through Cayman Islands Subsidiary Designed to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions 3 src
Dick Cheney · Halliburton · Bill Clinton
confirmed
2000-01-01ALEC Promotes Private Correctional Facilities Act Written by CCA Executives on Criminal Justice Task Force 4 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Corrections Corporation of America · GEO Group · State Legislators
confirmed
2000-01-01Major Strikes Collapse to 16 Annually, Down 95% from Pre-PATCO Era 2 src
American workers · Bureau of Labor Statistics
confirmed
2000-01-01Opioid Epidemic Death Toll Reaches 500,000 Americans Between 2000-2020 3 src
Purdue Pharma · Sackler Family · Food and Drug Administration · Drug Enforcement Administration · +1
confirmed
2000-01-01Stock Options Become Primary Executive Compensation, Aligning CEO Interests with Short-Term Stock Price Manipulation 3 src
Wall Street
confirmed
2000-01-01Top 10% of Firms Capture 90% of Profit Growth Between 1980-2000, Documenting Monopolization 3 src disputed
1999-09-01CIA Establishes In-Q-Tel as Revolutionary Venture Capital Arm 3 src
Central Intelligence Agency · George Tenet · In-Q-Tel
confirmed
1998-06-30McKinsey Leverages Asian Financial Crisis for Consulting Expansion 3 src
McKinsey & Company · International Monetary Fund · World Bank
confirmed
1998-06-15Corporate Exploitation of Asian Financial Crisis Structural Adjustment 3 src
Goldman Sachs · Citigroup · McKinsey & Company · International Monetary Fund · +3
confirmed
1998-01-01CIA Begins Developing In-Q-Tel Concept -- Intelligence Community Plans Entry Into Venture Capital 4 src
George Tenet · Central Intelligence Agency · Lockheed Martin
confirmed
1997-12-01Kroll Associates Merges with O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt, Expanding Into Full-Service Security and Intelligence Firm 4 src
Jules Kroll · Kroll Associates
confirmed
1997-08-01Boeing-McDonnell Douglas Merger Approved: Defense Contractor Consolidation Creates Oligopoly 3 src
Boeing · Federal Trade Commission · U.S. Department of Defense
confirmed
1996-01-01George Friedman Founds Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), the "Shadow CIA" of Private Geopolitical Intelligence 4 src confirmed
1996-01-01Purdue Pharma Launches Aggressive OxyContin Marketing Campaign Based on False Claims 4 src
Purdue Pharma · Sackler Family · Richard Sackler
confirmed
1995-04-10McNamara Memoir Admits Vietnam War Was "Terribly Wrong" - Confession Comes 20 Years Too Late for 58,000 Dead Americans 3 src confirmed
1995-01-10CIA Director James Woolsey Departs, Begins Three-Decade Career Monetizing Intelligence Credentials 3 src
Booz Allen Hamilton · Lux Capital
confirmed
1995-01-01ALEC Develops Tax and Expenditure Limitation Act - Model Bill to Restrict State Revenue and Manufacture Fiscal Crisis 4 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Corporate funders
confirmed
1995-01-01K Street Project Systematically Transforms Washington Lobbying Infrastructure 3 src
Tom DeLay · Grover Norquist
confirmed
1994-01-01ALEC Passes Three Strikes Model Legislation Co-Sponsored by Private Prison Industry and NRA 4 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Corrections Corporation of America · GEO Group · National Rifle Association · +1
confirmed
1994-01-01NAFTA Implementation Begins Manufacturing Job Hemorrhage 4 src
Bill Clinton · George H.W. Bush · U.S. Chamber of Commerce · AFL-CIO
confirmed
1993-12-08Clinton Signs NAFTA Creating Corporate Tribunals to Override National Laws 4 src
Bill Clinton · Al Gore · Robert Rubin · Mexican Government
confirmed
1993-06-01$25 Million Corporate Lobbying Blitz Drives NAFTA Passage Despite Labor Opposition 4 src
Business Roundtable · U.S. Chamber of Commerce · National Association of Manufacturers · Mexican Government · +1
confirmed
1993-02-26Port Authority Hires Kroll Associates After 1993 World Trade Center Bombing -- Private Intelligence Enters Counterterrorism 4 src
Jules Kroll · Kroll Associates
confirmed
1990-11-29Immigration Act of 1990 Expands Legal Immigration, Creates Diversity Visa Lottery 3 src
George H.W. Bush · Edward Kennedy · Alan Simpson · U.S. Congress
confirmed
1990-07-25Keating Lincoln Savings Civil RICO Fraud Indictment 3 src confirmed
1990-01-01Hoover Institution Organizational Profile: Leveraging Stanford Prestige for Conservative Policy Legitimacy 4 src
Hoover Institution · Herbert Hoover · Ronald Reagan · George Shultz · +3
confirmed
1990-01-01Union Avoidance Consulting Industry Emerges as $400+ Million Annual Business 3 src
Corporate employers · National Labor Relations Board
confirmed
1989-09-25Christian Coalition Founded - Grassroots Religious Right Electoral Infrastructure 3 src
Pat Robertson · Ralph Reed · Christian Coalition
confirmed
1989-03-04Eastern Airlines Strike Leads to Corporate Liquidation, Frank Lorenzo's Union Destruction Model 3 src confirmed
1989-02-09KKR's $31 Billion RJR Nabisco Leveraged Buyout Establishes Private Equity Wealth Extraction Model 3 src
KKR
confirmed
1988-11-23IBP Settles Record OSHA Case for Systematic Injury Underreporting at Dakota City Meatpacking Plant 3 src confirmed
1988-08-01Rush Limbaugh National Syndication Begins - Conservative Talk Radio Ecosystem Created 3 src
Rush Limbaugh
confirmed
1987-12-01Keating Lincoln Savings Irvine Fraudulent Bond Scheme 4 src confirmed
1987-01-01Cato Institute Organizational Profile: 'Libertarian' Cover for Corporate Deregulation Agenda 4 src
Cato Institute · Charles Koch · Murray Rothbard · Koch Industries · +1
confirmed
1987-01-01Heritage Foundation Budget Reaches $14.3 Million - Scale of Corporate Policy Investment 3 src
Heritage Foundation · Joseph Coors · Richard Mellon Scaife · Edwin Feulner
confirmed
1987-01-01Olin Foundation Law and Economics Programs Expand to Elite Law Schools 3 src
John M. Olin Foundation · Yale Law School
confirmed
1987-01-01Philanthropy Roundtable Founded - Conservative Donor Coordination Infrastructure 3 src
Koch Network
confirmed
1986-04-07EMTALA Passes as Unfunded Mandate, Enabling Insurance Industry to Shift Emergency Care Costs to Hospitals 3 src
Ronald Reagan · American Hospital Association · Health Insurance Association of America
confirmed
1986-01-01State Policy Network (Madison Group) Founded - State-Level Think Tank Coordination 3 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Heritage Foundation · Heartland Institute
confirmed
1985-08-17Hormel Strike Broken Through Permanent Replacement, Ending Pattern Bargaining in Meatpacking 3 src
National Guard
confirmed
1985-01-01Trickle-Down Legacy: Reagan Policies Make Inequality Structural Feature 3 src
Ronald Reagan · American workers
confirmed
1984-10-30Cable Communications Policy Act - Media Deregulation and Consolidation Enabled 3 src
Ronald Reagan · Barry Goldwater · Federal Communications Commission
confirmed
1984-05-07Agent Orange Settlement - Chemical Companies Pay $180 Million to Veterans Without Admitting Liability - Victims Receive Average $3,800 3 srcconfirmed
1984-01-01Manhattan Institute Organizational Profile: Urban Policy Infrastructure and CIA-Connected Think Tank 4 src
Rudy Giuliani · Bradley Foundation
confirmed
1983-06-30Phelps Dodge Breaks Copper Strike Using Permanent Replacement Workers, Destroying Union 3 src
United Steelworkers · National Labor Relations Board
confirmed
1983-04-26A Nation at Risk Report Launches Education Reform Industry, Lays Groundwork for Privatization 3 src
Ronald Reagan · Heritage Foundation
confirmed
1982-11-17SEC Adopts Rule 10b-18, Legalizing Stock Buybacks and Creating Major Wealth Extraction Mechanism 3 src
Securities and Exchange Commission · Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1982-06-14DOJ Issues Baxter's 1982 Merger Guidelines, Revolutionizing Antitrust Enforcement Toward Corporate Permissiveness 4 src
William F. Baxter · Department of Justice · Federal Trade Commission · Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1982-04-22Berkeley Pit Mine Closes on Earth Day, Pumps Shut Off, Creating Toxic Lake Superfund Site 3 src
Anaconda Copper Mining Company · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
confirmed
1982-01-08AT&T Breakup Settlement Finalized, Becoming Last Major Antitrust Action for Decades 3 src
AT&T · Department of Justice · Ronald Reagan · Robert Bork
confirmed
1982-01-01S&L Deregulation Creates Moral Hazard: Recipe for Systematic Fraud 3 src
Ronald Reagan · Federal Home Loan Bank Board
confirmed
1981-12-01CNP Completes "Three-Legged Stool" with Heritage and ALEC - Coordination Infrastructure Operational 2 src
Council for National Policy · Heritage Foundation · American Legislative Exchange Council · Paul Weyrich
confirmed
1981-08-13Reagan Signs ERTA: Massive Tax Cuts for Wealthy Begin Inequality Explosion 4 src
Ronald Reagan · U.S. Congress · Jack Kemp · William Roth
confirmed
1981-05-01Council for National Policy Founded - Secret Conservative Coordination Network 3 src
Tim LaHaye · Paul Weyrich · Nelson Bunker Hunt · Howard Phillips
confirmed
1981-04-13Reagan Appoints William Baxter as Antitrust Chief, Enforcement Collapses as Chicago School Takes Control 4 src
Ronald Reagan · William F. Baxter · Department of Justice
confirmed
1981-04-01Jack Welch Becomes GE CEO, Launches 'Shareholder Value' Era and Mass Layoffs 3 src
General Electric
confirmed
1981-01-20Reagan Inauguration Begins Antitrust Revolution: Eight Years of Systematic Enforcement Collapse and Corporate Consolidation 4 src
Ronald Reagan · William F. Baxter · Robert Bork · Department of Justice · +1
confirmed
1981-01-01Corporate Tax Avoidance Explosion: Reagan Loopholes Slash Corporate Revenue 3 src
Ronald Reagan · Corporate America · Internal Revenue Service · U.S. Congress
confirmed
1981-01-01Reagan Environmental Deregulation: Systematic Dismantling of Protections 3 src
Ronald Reagan · James Watt · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Department of Interior
confirmed
1981-01-01Reagan Era Wage Stagnation: Real Wages Decline as Inequality Accelerates 4 src
Ronald Reagan · American workers · Labor unions · Corporate America
confirmed
1981-01-01Wealth Inequality Explodes: Reagan Policies Accelerate Income Gap 4 src
Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1980-07-01Reagan Aide Edwin Meese Coordinates with Heritage on "Mandate for Leadership" 2 src
Edwin Meese III · Ronald Reagan · Edwin Feulner · Heritage Foundation
confirmed
1980-01-01Charles Heatherly Produces "Mandate for Leadership" Outline, Assembling 300 Contributors 2 src
Edwin Feulner · Heritage Foundation
confirmed
1980-01-01Corporate Political Mobilization Accelerates Following Powell Memo and Business Roundtable Formation 3 src
Business Roundtable · U.S. Chamber of Commerce · National Association of Manufacturers · Lewis Powell
confirmed
1979-06-01Falwell and Weyrich Found Moral Majority, Fusing Religious Right with Corporate Agenda 5 src
Jerry Falwell · Paul Weyrich · Richard Viguerie · Howard Phillips · +1
confirmed
1979-06-01Moral Majority Founded - Corporate Agenda Masked by Religious Cultural Warfare 3 src
Paul Weyrich · Jerry Falwell · Richard Viguerie · Howard Phillips · +1
confirmed
1979-01-08Vietnam Veterans File Agent Orange Class Action Lawsuit Against Dow Chemical and Monsanto - Corporations Deny Liability Despite Evidence 3 src confirmed
1979-01-01Heritage Foundation Begins "Mandate for Leadership" Preparation for Reagan Transition 2 src
Edwin Feulner · Heritage Foundation
confirmed
1979-01-01Supreme Court Adopts Bork's "Consumer Welfare Standard," Transforming Antitrust Law 3 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Robert Bork
confirmed
1979-01-01Wage Stagnation Era Begins: Productivity-Pay Gap Opens as Union Power Collapses 3 src
American workers · Federal Reserve · Business Roundtable
confirmed
1978-12-31Corporate Lobbying Presence Quintuples in Washington DC 3 src
U.S. Chamber of Commerce · Lewis Powell
confirmed
1978-01-01Manhattan Institute Founded by CIA Director William Casey - Intelligence-Policy Crossover 3 src confirmed
1978-01-01Robert Bork Publishes "The Antitrust Paradox," Revolutionizing Corporate Power 3 src
Robert Bork · Aaron Director · Chicago School of Economics
confirmed