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The growing political influence of tech billionaires in America has been brought to the fore after the 2024 election where Elon Musk, CEO of electric car manufacturer, Tesla, spent most of the year campaigning for Trump. It can be argued that Musk has had more of an impact on campaigning than any of Trump’s allies in politics.
In attendance at Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration on the 20th of January, alongside the incoming President’s family and close political allies, were five of the most powerful men in America. Elon Musk of Tesla, Sundar Pichai of Google, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg were seated closer to the President than most of his own Cabinet. Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, was also in attendance in the second row, only upstaged by Trump’s family in the front row, with it being noted that the spouses of members of Congress were not invited into the Capitol rotunda yet the future spouse of an unelected tech billionaire receives a seat.
Whatever it takes, Trump seems determined to keep this group of billionaires on his side. They are a vital source of political donations with Silicon Valley firms pouring $394.1m into the 2024 election, and a vast majority of this comes from Musk’s donation of $242.6m to Trump.
Furthermore, Silicon Valley is popular amongst Americans with the tech there being a symbol of America’s technological dominance over the rest of the world. Therefore, Trump has identified the significant benefits of having the world’s richest man campaigning for him and also by having support from five of the most well-known tech brands in the world within camera shot at his inauguration.
In his final speech as president, Joe Biden warned the American people of the dangers of the “tech industrial complex”, suggesting that there is a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people” and that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America, of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy”. Thanks to the lack of a cap on election campaign spending in the United States, the wealth of these few tech firms allows them huge influence over which candidate is chosen by the American people. In addition, the online platforms owned by Meta, Google, and X, allow for a level of influence over billions of users. As a result of the lack of restrictions on donations to political candidates, these companies are able to entrench their wealth and power every four years by backing the candidate that is more supportive of large corporations and their interests.
Musk has gone one step further by essentially buying himself a position in the cabinet as Trump’s right-hand man for $242.6m. He will head the newly established Department of Government Efficiency along with fellow entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy. Perhaps the most concerning part of Musk’s new level of access to government is that it allows him the opportunity to influence the Government Grants that his companies SpaceX and Tesla rely heavily on. Musk’s business deals with the US government have totalled nearly $20 billion over the last 16 years and with his ability to reduce funding to government agencies that regulate tech companies and influence the distribution of grants, Musk is likely to benefit hugely from his new position. Musk’s investors certainly believe so as, according to Bloomberg estimates, his net worth has increased by $64 Billion since Trump’s election victory.
It is not for the benefit of the USA or democracies as a whole to allow those who don’t have the best interests of the American people such influence and access to the heart of American democracy. Musk certainly seems to only have his business interests at heart; with the trend of more and more political donations from large corporations with each consecutive election, America seems to be heading towards an undemocratic system of politics, not run by the people but by those with the most money.
Image: Trump’s inauguration, AP pic // CC BY 4.0
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