Democracy simply can’t exist in a world where the rich are allowed to dabble in politics. So many billionaires from across the world use their financial privilege to give them political influence. Simply put money is power, and those with money are of high interest to political figures who rely on their donations.
According to a 2023 study by Perspective on Politics, over a tenth of all billionaires have held or sought political office. It’s obvious that not every billionaire in the world wants to try to control society, but the increasing number of billionaires who want to involve themselves in politics is a cause for concern. We live in a world where true democracy is a thing of the past, and rich people's meddling will simply worsen the issue.
The Western world, in particular, is known for its likeliness of billionaires. In the UK and US, it’s common practice to accept gifts and donations from rich donors. In simple words, they are buying their way into power. Not to mention their ability to sway votes through their online presence, like in the case of Elon Musk or Andrew Tate.
In 2023, the Conservatives were able to raise £12 million in donations in the first 3 months of the year alone, largely due to a £5 million donation made by business tycoon Mohamed Mansour. These donations of course don’t come free of charge, in return politicians tend to sway policies to favour the rich. In the case of Mansour, his donation bought him a knighthood.
In the US 2024 election, Donald Trump was awarded a $172 million donation from a singular donor - Timothy Mellon, the reclusive heir to the Gilded Age-era Mellon family fortune. The world's richest man, Elon Musk, gave Trump $133 million, and those are just two of the many donations.
These hefty gifts allow billionaires to engage in what is known as stealth politics, where they seek influence over policies that may go against their personal preferences. Without of course attracting any public attention, or so they would like to think.
More recently, Elon Musk has been a major influence on British politics but not in the form of donations. More so because of his social media influence and desire to oust the current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. As he took to X with a series of posts attacking Starmer, in one post he said Starmer is “complicit” in the rape of Britain.
It has also been reported that Musk has discussed with allies his possible plans to further destabalise the Labour Party. To which Starmer’s government, “promised to urgently “take all necessary steps” to prevent “malign actors” from evading laws which seek to prevent foreign billionaires from bankrolling UK political parties.”
The rest of the world isn’t safe from billionaire’s sticky fingers either, with Latin America practically run by the rich. Meanwhile, the Middle East thrives off business politics, whether billionaires like Massad Boulos donate to Trump’s campaign or Benjamin Netanyahu receives gifts from his billionaire friends.
While both right-wing and left-wing politicians favour billionaires and their money, most of these billionaires tend to be more on the conservative side of politics. They not only tend to steer politics towards the right but also to avoid an increase in their taxes. The amount billionaires pay in taxes is barely a slap on the wrist for them, which frankly is just sad when you consider how many of the world's problems would be solved if we just taxed the rich.
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