Billionaire.

In the mid-20th century, billionaires did not exist in the United States. Progressive taxation, strong unions, and regulations kept wealth more evenly distributed. The economy thrived, and the postwar boom created the strongest middle class in history. But today, billionaires not only exist—they dominate every aspect of economic, political, and social life. This shift was not an accident. It was a deliberate, decades-long effort by the ultra-wealthy to undo the systems that restrained them and restore a version of the Gilded Age where a handful of elites control the world while everyone else struggles.

Between the New Deal in the 1930s and the 1970s, America had an economic system that, while still capitalist, limited extreme wealth accumulation. Several key policies kept billionaires in check. A 91% top marginal tax rate from 1944 to 1963 ensured that excessive wealth was taxed and reinvested in public infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Corporate taxes were high, and businesses were expected to reinvest profits into expansion, wages, and innovation. Labor unions were powerful, ensuring that workers received a fair share of corporate profits. Government spending on public goods such as roads, schools, and healthcare created widespread prosperity. The result was that billionaires did not exist. The richest Americans were "only" worth a few hundred million dollars, and wealth inequality remained relatively low. The economy grew, wages kept up with productivity, and the benefits of capitalism were widely shared. But for corporate elites, this was a problem. They weren’t satisfied with being rich—they wanted absolute control. And so, they began plotting to take back power.

John D. Rockefeller was one of the first figures to illustrate the sheer magnitude of wealth accumulation and control. He built Standard Oil into a monopoly, crushing competition through secret railroad deals, price manipulation, and market control. By the early 20th century, he had amassed such a fortune that he became the world’s first billionaire. His power was so vast that the government was forced to intervene, breaking up Standard Oil in 1911 under antitrust laws. Yet, the breakup only increased his wealth as the pieces of his empire became even more valuable. While Rockefeller later engaged in philanthropy, funding universities, medical research, and libraries, the wealth he donated was only a fraction of what he had extracted through monopolistic dominance. The same system that allowed Rockefeller to control oil and dictate market terms was the very system that postwar policies aimed to prevent from re-emerging. But by the late 20th century, that system was back.

In 1971, a corporate lawyer named Lewis Powell wrote a document that would change the course of American history. Known as the Powell Memo, this secret blueprint called for the corporate takeover of government, media, and the economy. Powell argued that businesses should actively work to weaken unions, deregulate markets, defund public institutions, and lobby for lower taxes on the rich. This memo became the foundation of modern corporate lobbying, giving rise to think tanks, political action committees, and billionaire-funded policy groups. Over the next decades, the plan unfolded systematically.

Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s marked the biggest shift toward billionaire dominance since the Gilded Age. His policies did exactly what the Powell Memo prescribed. He slashed taxes on the rich from 70% to 28%, allowing wealth to accumulate at the top. He deregulated corporations, letting them form monopolies and exploit workers without consequence. He crushed labor unions, famously firing striking air traffic controllers in 1981 to send a message that worker power was over. He cut social programs, forcing the working class into greater economic insecurity while billionaires hoarded wealth. The results were devastating: income inequality skyrocketed, corporate power grew unchecked, and billionaires began to re-emerge. Reagan’s tax cuts didn’t “trickle down”—they concentrated wealth at the top, where it has remained ever since.

Reagan’s policies laid the foundation, but it was Bill Clinton in the 1990s who locked in the billionaire-friendly system. Repealing Glass-Steagall in 1999 allowed Wall Street to engage in reckless speculation, leading to the 2008 financial crash. Expanding "tough on crime" policies criminalized poverty while ignoring corporate crime. Embracing corporate globalization sent jobs overseas, weakening the American workforce. By the 2000s, George W. Bush further cut taxes for the rich while launching wars that funneled trillions into private defense contractors. The billionaire class was no longer just rich—they controlled the government, the economy, and public perception.

By the 2010s, billionaires had fully taken control. The richest 0.1% now own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. Corporate tax avoidance reached historical highs, with companies like Amazon and Tesla paying little to nothing. Every economic crisis—the 2008 crash, COVID-19, inflation—has made billionaires richer while working people suffer. Meanwhile, billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg have consolidated power through media control, tech monopolies, and labor suppression. Musk, in particular, mirrors Rockefeller’s model in many ways. He presents himself as a visionary genius, yet his wealth is largely built on government subsidies, stock market manipulation, and aggressive anti-union tactics. Tesla, his most well-known company, benefited from billions in public funding, yet Musk actively fights against the very systems that enabled his rise. Like Rockefeller, Musk has cultivated an image as a benefactor of humanity while extracting wealth on an unprecedented scale. Whether through controlling social media platforms like Twitter/X or shaping public narratives around AI and space exploration, Musk, like his predecessors, ensures that wealth and influence remain concentrated at the very top.

The ultra-rich don’t just hoard wealth—they actively work to prevent any challenge to their power. Their playbook includes buying politicians to ensure that both major parties protect their interests, controlling the media through ownership of newspapers, social media platforms, and TV networks, crushing labor movements to keep wages low, using crises for profit as every economic disaster becomes an opportunity for them to accumulate more wealth, and pushing the “meritocracy” myth to distract from the reality that the system is rigged in their favor.

The result of decades of billionaire-friendly policies is an economy that no longer works for ordinary people. Wages remain stagnant while corporate profits soar. Healthcare, education, and housing are unaffordable while billionaires hoard wealth. Democracy itself is eroding, as wealth concentration gives the richest Americans more political power than millions of voters combined. Billionaires exist not because they’re brilliant or hardworking, but because the system was deliberately rewritten to make their dominance inevitable.

The policies that created the strong middle class of the 1950s-1970s could work again. Reinstituting high taxes on extreme wealth would prevent billionaires from hoarding money indefinitely. Breaking up monopolies would restore market competition. Strengthening labor unions would ensure fair wages. Taxing wealth, not just income, would stop billionaires from accumulating endless fortunes. Ending corporate tax loopholes and offshore havens would ensure that the wealthiest actually contribute to society. Investing in public goods such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure instead of billionaire subsidies would redistribute wealth back to the people who create it.

The return of billionaires was not a natural evolution—it was a coordinated reversal of policies that once ensured a fairer economy. The Powell Memo, Reaganomics, Clinton-era deregulation, and Wall Street bailouts were all designed to restore extreme wealth accumulation. The story of Rockefeller and Musk is not one of individual genius but of systemic exploitation. The question is no longer why billionaires exist—we know the answer. The real question is whether we are willing to change the system back to one that benefits the many instead of the few.