"According to Oxfam International's "Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power" report this week, a billionaire boom has coincided with the rise of the richest exerting political influence, with billionaires 4,000 times more likely to hold office than less wealthy people globally. And if those billionaires aren't running for office, they're pouring money into campaigns. Per Oxfam, one in six dollars spent by all U.S. candidates, parties, and committees in the 2024 elections came from 100 billionaire families."
""There is way too much power that is being held in the hands of way too few right now, and that undercuts people's economic freedom, political freedom, and it also fundamentally undermines the value of one's participation in the political system," Ahmed told Fortune. "We actually do face a moment in which there is a fundamental choice between oligarchy and democracy.""
A billionaire boom has coincided with the richest exerting greater political influence, with billionaires about 4,000 times more likely to hold office globally than less wealthy people. In the United States, 100 billionaire families provided one in six dollars spent by candidates, parties, and committees in the 2024 elections. Public concern about policies favoring the wealthy is high, with 65% of surveyed Americans saying those policies favor the wealthy. The concentration of wealth and political power disempowers everyday people, undercuts economic and political freedom, and risks shifting governance toward oligarchy rather than representative democracy.
Read at Fortune
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