Kochs, Cato Institute Ready to End Lawsuits The Cato Institute and a pair of its billionaire shareholders say they're ready to settle two lawsuits over ownership of the libertarian-leaning, Washington-based think tank. Charles and David Koch, known nationally for supporting conservative causes and candidates, filed the lawsuits in their native Kansas. The billionaire brothers argued that since another shareholder died last year, they and the institute's CEO were the only ones left. CEO Ed Crane accused the brothers of trying to engineer what he called a hostile takeover. Both sides announced Monday that they had an agreement to restructure the institute so it would be governed by member-directors, not shareholders. The agreement still needs to be finalized by a judge. The Koch brothers have been longtime shareholders in the institute, a research organization promoting free-market, small-government policies.