Challenging the Elite: Lessons from the Gilded Age

If Trump’s nominees are confirmed, his administration could include at least 13 billionaires, collectively worth $383 billion. And at the inauguration, billionaire tech leaders like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg sat front and center signaling their proximity to power. Wealthy people joining the government is not new, but the levels of extreme wealth are unprecedented. So much so that in his farewell address, former President Biden warned that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy.” Pundits have christened this new era a “broligarchy.” We’ll talk about how billionaires in and out of government are impacting the country.

Guests:

Brooke Harrington, professor of sociology, Dartmouth College; author, "Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"

Paul Pierson, political science professor, UC Berkeley; co-author, "Let The Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality"

Noah Bookbinder, president, CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)

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