#BernieSanders Lays Out Plan to Fight #Oligarchy as Wealth of Top #Billionaires Passes $10 Trillion
"If there was ever a moment when #progressives needed to communicate our vision to the people of our country, this is that time," wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders. "Despair is not an option."
Jake Johnson
Dec 31, 2024
"A Bloomberg analysis of billionaire wealth published Tuesday found that the combined fortunes of the 500 richest people on the planet surpassed $10 trillion this year, a finding that came shortly after U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued an urgent call to action to prevent the emergence of 'an oligarchic and authoritarian society.'
"The new analysis notes that the world's top 500 billionaires 'got vastly richer' this year with the help of "an indomitable rally in U.S. technology stocks."
"Just eight billionaires— #ElonMusk, #MarkZuckerberg, #JensenHuang, #LarryEllison, #JeffBezos, #MichaelDell, #LarryPage, and #SergeyBrin—added more than $600 billion to their collective wealth in 2024 and accounted for 43% of the $1.5 trillion increase in net worth among the world's 500 richest people, according to Bloomberg.
"'But it was Musk—the so-called 'first buddy' of President-elect Donald Trump after unprecedented support for his reelection campaign—who dominated the world's wealthiest in 2024,' Bloomberg observed, adding that Trump himself also saw his fortune surge to a record high this year, 'boosted by the performance of his majority stake in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.'
"Musk's use of his enormous fortune to influence the U.S. political system—including via his purchase of one of the world's largest social media platforms and donations to Trump's 2024 campaign—amplified existing concerns about the corrosive impact of massive wealth concentration on democracy.
"And #WealthInequality in the U.S. could soon get worse, with Trump and the incoming Republican-controlled Congress set to pursue another round of tax cuts for the #UltraRich and large #corporations."
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/bernie-sanders-billionaire-wealth
#TaxTheRich #EatTheRich #Oligarchy #CorporateColonialism #Corporatocracy #Authoritarianism #TechBros #CapitalismMustDie
