William Koch Scammed
The poor miser inside me has to smile when reading articles like this: Bill Koch’s wine is fake. In 1988, the wealthy businessman purchased four bottles of Bordeaux wine supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson for a hefty sum of $500,000. When Koch wanted to feature the wines at the rather ridiculous Things I Love exhibit at the MFA, the museum demanded proof that the wines were legit. To prove their worth, he spent another $1 million (according to the WSJ September 1, 2006) and discovered that he had been scammed. Koch is now suing the original seller, Hardy Rodenstock, and Wine Library, Inc.
The Forbes family is also considering its own lawsuit, as Malcolm Forbes had also bought a bottle of supposed Jeffersonian wine for $156,000 in 1985.
