The German data company Datapulse released a report showing the vast and growing power of billionaires in the U.S. The report confirms your and my suspicions about the rigging of our economy and our politics. Surely it’s no surprise that Trump’s Cabinet is packed with billionaires. Guess who they are looking out for? Not you.
They cheered on Elon Musk’s ignominious DOGS as they slashed vital government programs. They didn’t complain when Musk closed USAID, causing the ultimate deaths of millions of children and parents because of the halt in US food, medicine and health clinics.
They are thrilled to see Trump send in the troops to halt protests against ICE tactics.
A democracy is supposed to be of the people, for the people, by the people. We are rapidly devolving into an autocratic regime where the rich run the show.
Here is what Datapulse found:
The report, “The Rich Aren’t Just Getting Richer—They’re Running the Show” moves beyond familiar headlines to provide fresh, specific data points on wealth, power, and policy.
Key findings include:
- The Myth of “Tax Flight”: Contrary to popular narratives, the mega-rich are not fleeing high-tax states. Our data shows that California and New York, states with progressive tax codes, are home to 40% of all U.S. billionaires.
- Explosive Growth: The number of U.S. billionaires has nearly tripled since 2007, growing from 329 to 877 today. This trajectory is unique to America; China’s billionaire class, by comparison, is stalling.
- The Rise of the Billionaire Political Class: In the post-Citizens United era, the top 10 political donors, all billionaires, contributed over $420 million in the 2024 cycle alone, directly translating wealth into political influence.
- Policy for the Few: The study analyzes the direct impact of billionaire-backed policy, such as the House’s 2025 “Big Beautiful Bill,” which could see billionaires gain over $390,000 in annual after-tax income while households earning under $51,000 see their incomes shrink.
- Concentrated Wealth: Tech and Finance now account for nearly half of all U.S. billionaires, with tech titans alone commanding 37% of total billionaire wealth.
The full study with all 10 interactive charts is available here:
https://www.datapulse.de/en/billionaires-usa/
This data provides a new lens through which to view the intersection of wealth and power in America.
The report was compiled by Datapulse.
https://www.datapulse.de/en/
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Why is this news? We have known this for decades. It is time to get out the pitchforks and torches and burn their mansions down.
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Boy are you late to the party. Billionaires have been taking over since the New Deal. It’s been a long process of deregulation ramped up in the 70s under Carter and supercharged in the 80s under Reagan, then codified as Democratic policy in the 90s under Clinton’s “Third Way”. It is a fully bipartisan state of affairs. Trump is only the next logical step in the procedure and nothing will change if and when Democrats regain power.
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AMERICA HAS BEEN AN OLIGARCHY FOR YEARS
After researching government laws passed since Citizens United, Princeton University researcher Martin Gilens and Northwestern University researcher Benjamin Page documented that the U.S. is no longer a representative republic because the government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens, but is instead ruled by the rich and powerful. The researchers analyzed 1,800 U.S. policies enacted over a period of two decades and compared the laws and regulations that were passed to those favored by average Americans to those favored by wealthy Americans and corporations, and here’s what the research revealed: “EVEN WHEN A MAJORITY OF CITIZENS DISAGREES WITH ECONOMIC ELITES OR WITH ORGANIZED SPECIAL INTERESTS, ORDINARY CITIZENS GENERALLY LOSE.”
America has become an oligarchy because of the Supreme Court. Today’s Roberts Court will live in the same odious infamy as the Taney Court whose 1857 Dred Scott ruling declared that human beings are mere property, which lit the fuse to the ruinous Civil War from which America has yet to recover. In its 2010 Citizens United ruling, the Roberts Court ruled that mere property is equal to a human being, leading to corporations being given the “human right” to pour unlimited dollars into America’s political system, putting government up for sale to the highest bidder and corrupting the system to the extent that our nation has become an oligarchy that no longer represents or serves We the People.
Today, America has the best government that money can buy and is an outright oligarchy, serving the interests of corporations and billionaires, not We the People.
Unfortunately, vast numbers of We the People today don’t really mind this situation, so long as their modest needs are satisfied, because with our nation run by oligarchs the average person can focus on sports and other diversions — who knows, perhaps the oligarchs, like the Caesars of Rome, might even build coliseums offering blood sports. Footfall comes pretty close.
What we see now in the general populace of We the People is a weariness with the demands of maintaining a republic. When Benjamin Franklin was leaving Independence Hall after signing the Constitution, the wife of the Mayor of Baltimore stopped him and asked: “Well, Mr. Franklin, what sort of government have you given us?”
Franklin soberly replied: “A republic, Madam — if you can keep it.”
Franklin and our other Founding Fathers knew that a republic requires constant attention from We the People, requiring them to stay fully informed on the essential issues, and voting in every election. But that’s hard work — too hard for vast numbers of Americans today who would rather “enjoy life” and let oligarchs run our nation. And, there is almost no chance of a turnaround without some serious social action.
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Nothing will change with the present composition of the Supreme Court. The 6-3 conservative majority will not reverse Citizens United decision.
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If there are 2026 midterms, and if Democrats take control of both Houses of Congress, the first order of business for Congress should be to (1) impeach Kavanaugh for lying to the Senate during his confirmation hearing; (2) impeach Thomas for violating ethical standards; and, (3) increase the number of Justices on the Court to at least 12 and, preferably, 15, thereby creating a Supreme Court with a liberal majority of 8 to 4, or 11 to 4.
However, I don’t think that Democratic “leadership” is sufficiently intelligent to make that their top priority. They will more likely take the low road of political revenge and of rolling back some of the worst of the Republican legislation.
PLUS — REMEMBER: During his campaign, Trump promised his MAGA minions that if he was elected, they would never have to vote again. Violent demonstrations will give Trump the excuse to make that happen.
If out-of-control progressives engage in physical confrontations with ICE or any federal law enforcement agency, Trump will have the perfect excuse to declare martial law and suspend elections. Physically confrontational progressives could end up being their own worst enemy…and America’s downfall.
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Musk is having a hissy fit over not getting what he believes he is entitled to from Trump so Musk is considering funding another party. I doubt this will happen. However, it would remove some of the libertarian and tech bros. from the GOP which would help divide the wealthy vote and weaken the impact of the ultra-wealthy.
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And it would draw many Dimocraps who are fed up with the complete capitulation of that party since Blow Job Billie.
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We’ve seen this movie before, i.e., the robber barons and economic royalists. Though things are even worse with Trump and his gang of economic robber barons.
That zombie Stephen Dyer article is still at the top of the list, it just won’t pass into history.
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One of the things I find most troubling is the harangue coming from the old guard Democrats and ex-pat Republicans. Everyone from James Carville to Anthony Scaramuchi immediately blame progressive Democrats for the disunity in the Democratic Party while refusing to look in the mirror. All that is heard from establishment Democrats and the gerontocracy running the Democrats in Washington is a nostalgia for the pre-Trump days. What they refuse to see is that the age of neoliberalism they want back is what got us here.
As legislation moved through Congress during Biden’s first two years, the true obstructionists were “moderates” like Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Progressives worked with the rest of the Democratic Party to get the job done. No carping or threats to blow up the bills. Progressives supported the Democratic Party.
Liz Cheney showed great courage in her fight against Trump, but she was tone deaf to the fact that she and other exiled Republicans were not popular. One of the real mistakes by the Harris campaign was allying so closely to those Republicans and taking them into Muslim communities like Detroit so troubled by Israeli war mongering.
We also witnessed Pelosi still in charge when Biden left the campaign, Jeffries was nowhere to be found, and her boisterous rejection of the attempts to end insider trading in Congress. She officiated a million dollar Getty wedding and along with the Clinton’s and others continues to be seen among the jet set. Talk about tone deaf!
It isn’t progressives like AOC who are the problem. It is the part of the Democratic Party that is as dependent on billionaires as Republicans. A party that is willing to fire a young officer of the DNC who wants things to change for the better while aghast by the electoral choices of NYC. One thing that is clear is that most of the country is fed up with it. The South African ex-pat tech bros may want to control the world with AI, but AI can’t carry pitch forks. When MAGA discovers it no longer has health insurance, look out.
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