Tom Wolfe coined the phrase “masters of the universe” as a wry description of Wall Street traders. Elon Musk took it literally. He hopes to colonize Mars. But Musk is now roughly grounded. After clashing with Donald Trump, the world’s richest man discovered he’s not even master of Washington—let alone the universe.
Musk’s downfall is part of a global pattern. Decades of globalization have created extremely wealthy oligarchs around the world. But when the power of money and political power collide, the outcome is predictable. Politics always emerges victorious. In countries as diverse as Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and now the United States, oligarchs who have developed independent political ambitions have been given a stark reminder of where the real power lies.
The triumph of politics over money might surprise both Marxists and overconfident capitalists, who believe that politicians will always play the rich's game. But, as Mao observed, power comes out of the barrel of a gun. Control of the state apparatus, the army, the state prosecutor's office, the tax authorities, still ultimately means more than billions in the bank account.
Of course, politicians need money, especially as they rise to the top. Elections are expensive, as are the clientelist politics of authoritarian states. Musk's financial support helped Trump win the 2024 presidential election.
Vladimir Putin’s rise to power in Russia was made possible by some of the country’s richest men, who hoped he would be the guardian of the vast fortunes they had amassed during the 10s. But once he had established himself in the Kremlin, Putin showed the oligarchs who was boss. When Mikhail Khodorkovsky, then the richest man in Russia, began to emerge as an independent political force, Putin ordered his arrest. Khodorkovsky spent XNUMX years in prison. Boris Berezovsky, who had also amassed a vast fortune under Boris Yeltsin, was forced into exile and died under mysterious circumstances.
Control over the state apparatus, the army, the state prosecutor's office, the tax authorities, still ultimately means more than billions in a bank account.
Jack Ma, then the richest man in China, had a relatively milder experience. President Xi Jinping apparently saw Ma’s high public profile and sometimes outspoken views as a challenge. After Ma gave a speech in 2020 criticizing financial regulators, the initial public offering of his company Ant Group was suspended, and he virtually disappeared from the public eye. The Chinese Communist Party has shown the country’s most prominent capitalist where he belongs.
Ma did not end up in prison and has begun to appear in public again. But Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong tycoon who supported the pro-democracy movement in the territory, is currently serving a long prison sentence.
In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a man admired by Donald Trump, has also shown that he can force obedience from the wealthiest people in his kingdom. In 2017, he imprisoned dozens of wealthy businessmen in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, allegedly as part of a crackdown on corruption. Among them was Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the kingdom’s most prominent investor. The event sent a message of ruthless power that has never been forgotten.
The best way for a billionaire to protect himself from the whims of a state leader is to become a leader himself. The late Silvio Berlusconi, a controversial tycoon who founded his own political party and served three terms as prime minister of Italy, took that path. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire who became prime minister of Georgia, took a similar path. Trump himself used his wealth to finance his entry into politics. But few oligarchs successfully make the transition. And those who operate on the margins must be very careful. If they want to preserve their wealth and their freedom, they must know where the limits are.
In India, the incredibly wealthy Ambani family maintains close ties to Narendra Modi, the country's prime minister. But they have never sought to challenge his leadership.
Carlos Slim, Mexico's richest man, has maintained close relationships with a series of Mexican presidents while rarely expressing political views. Slim's deliberate neutrality has allowed him to maintain influence regardless of which administration is in power. He has even collaborated with leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, working on major infrastructure projects.
Many Americans would cringe at the thought that the relationship between money and power in their country could be compared to how things work in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, or Mexico. After all, the United States is a long-standing democracy with well-established property rights. The idea that the president could use the law to enact a vendetta against the richest man in the country still sounds pretty shocking. But the president has already said that Musk could lose federal contracts and warned him of “very serious consequences” if he supports Democrats.
Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters want to go even further. Steve Bannon has proposed nationalizing Musk’s SpaceX, a company that plays a key role in the federal space program. He has also called on Trump to investigate Musk’s immigration status with the goal of deporting him. Expropriation? Exile? It all sounds very un-American. But this is Trump’s United States. Never say never.
The text is taken from "Financial Times"
Translation: NB
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