How Billionaires Are Buying Democracy and Stripping America for Parts...And What We Can Do About It.
Elon Musk spent $250 million to return Trump to the White House with a GOP-controlled trifecta. His net worth has grown by $180 billion just since the election. This is not what democracy looks like.
In 2017, I posed a “thought experiment” on Facebook: What would it take to wholesale purchase the democratic infrastructure of the United States?
At the time, the richest individuals in the world were worth about $88 billion. Today, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires have surpassed $200 billion, while rumors suggest Vladimir Putin’s corrupt and shadowy fortune eclipses even those figures.
What does this extraordinary accumulation of wealth mean for democracy? It’s no longer a hypothetical question. The power and influence wielded by billionaires over elections, policy, and public institutions are no longer subtle—they are boldly dismantling democracy in broad daylight.
US Billionaire Political Power Index
Billionaire Influence: From the Gilded Age to Today
The modern era mirrors the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, when industrial titans like John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt amassed fortunes that, adjusted for inflation, would dwarf those of today’s tech moguls. These “robber barons” controlled vast industries, monopolized resources, and used their wealth to shape policy and elections in their favor.
Today’s billionaires, however, operate on an even larger scale. They don’t just control industries—they dominate public narratives through media ownership and social platforms, manipulate elections with dark money, and profit directly from taxpayer-funded contracts while evading accountability.
The 2024 Election: A Stark Example of Billionaire Influence
The 2024 U.S. presidential election highlighted how billionaire wealth can overwhelm democratic systems:
Over $20 billion poured into the campaign, shattering previous records for political spending.
Just 150 billionaire families contributed $1.9 billion, eclipsing the amount nearly 700 billionaires spent in the entire 2020 campaign.
In the seven most competitive U.S. Senate races, billionaire family spending favored Republicans over Democrats by a staggering 7:1 margin.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, played an outsized role. Musk spent $133 million on the election, including $75 million to launch a super PAC supporting Donald Trump. Overall, Trump benefited from more than $450 million in billionaire donations, over three times what his opponent raised.
For Musk, this was more than just political support—it was an investment. Since Trump’s initial election in 2016, Musk’s net worth has skyrocketed. By some estimates, he has earned $4 billion per day in stock gains since Trump’s victory. Much of Musk’s wealth stems from taxpayer-funded contracts for Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures, creating a glaring conflict of interest as he now wields influence over government spending decisions.
Buying Democracy: The Math Problem
For billionaires, the cost of influencing democracy is trivial. Buying off the entire U.S. Congress—435 Representatives and 100 Senators—would cost $5.35 billion at $10 million per member. For someone worth $200 billion, this is a negligible expense.
But billionaires don’t need to buy every politician. Some are ideologically aligned with their interests, while others can be coerced or incentivized. By targeting a smaller group of key decision-makers—committee chairs, swing votes, and party leaders—a billionaire can effectively control legislative outcomes for a fraction of the cost.
Musk and the New "Robber Barons"
Musk exemplifies how modern billionaires exploit their wealth and influence:
Taxpayer-Funded Wealth: Despite his public persona as a self-made innovator, Musk’s companies have relied heavily on government contracts and subsidies. SpaceX alone has received billions in taxpayer funds, and Tesla benefited from federal tax incentives for electric vehicles.
Manipulating Public Narratives: Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter (now X) has turned the platform into a megaphone for right-wing narratives and disinformation, amplifying voices that serve his political and business interests.
Profiting from Deregulation: Policies supported by Trump and his Republican allies—such as corporate tax cuts and reduced environmental regulations—directly contributed to Musk’s ballooning net worth.
Evading Accountability: Despite his reliance on public funds, Musk faces little scrutiny over how his political investments create conflicts of interest with government contracts.
The Playbook: Stripping Democracy for Parts
Billionaires like Musk follow a refined version of the robber barons’ playbook, adapted for the 21st century:
Divide and Distract: Polarize the electorate to paralyze meaningful action. Fund media platforms and narratives that amplify culture wars, distracting from economic exploitation.
Defund Public Goods: Push for tax cuts that starve public institutions like schools, hospitals, and infrastructure, while positioning themselves to profit from privatization.
Rig the System: Exploit campaign finance loopholes, gerrymandering, and deregulation to ensure policies favor the ultra-wealthy.
Extract and Abandon: Funnel profits into stock buybacks, offshore accounts, and speculative ventures, leaving workers and communities to bear the costs.
Silence Accountability: Use wealth to drown critics in lawsuits, buy media outlets, and co-opt regulators to ensure no one challenges their power.
Lessons from the First Gilded Age
The original Gilded Age didn’t end on its own. It was dismantled through a convergence of social movements, economic crises, and political will. Labor unions, progressive leaders, and public backlash against corruption forced changes that reined in the robber barons and ushered in the Progressive Era.
Key reforms included:
Antitrust Laws: The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) and later enforcement by Theodore Roosevelt curbed monopolies like Standard Oil.
Income Tax: The 16th Amendment (1913) introduced a federal income tax to redistribute wealth.
Labor Protections: Strikes and union organizing pushed for safer working conditions, fair wages, and an eight-hour workday.
Political Reforms: Direct election of Senators (17th Amendment) and anti-corruption measures aimed to reduce the influence of corporate-controlled political machines.
Fighting Back: Reclaiming Democracy
To counter today’s billionaire influence, we need similarly bold reforms:
Tax Wealth, Not Just Income: A wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million would fund public goods and reduce outsized influence.
Ban Stock Buybacks: Reinstate bans on buybacks that prioritize shareholders over workers and reinvestment.
Expose Dark Money: Demand transparency for all political contributions and enact strict limits on donations.
Break Up Monopolies: Enforce antitrust laws to dismantle monopolies in tech, energy, and other industries.
Strengthen Labor Rights: Empower unions and expand collective bargaining to counterbalance billionaire power.
Rebuild Public Institutions: Invest in public goods—schools, healthcare, and infrastructure—to reduce reliance on billionaire “philanthropy.”
Conclusion: Will We Fight Back?
Elon Musk has become the face of modern billionaire influence, exemplifying how obscene wealth can reshape elections, policies, and public narratives to serve private interests. His reliance on taxpayer-funded contracts while directing government spending represents a glaring conflict of interest that underscores the dangers of unchecked power.
This isn’t about punishing wealth—it’s about protecting democracy. Billionaires like Musk and Thiel aren’t just participating in the system; they are purchasing it outright. If we don’t act, democracy will continue to be stripped for parts, leaving future generations to wonder why we didn’t fight harder when it mattered.
The question isn’t whether they’ll fight to maintain their grip—they will. The real question is whether we’ll fight harder to take it back.