Elon Musk learned the hard way that oligarchs are not all-powerful.
He thought he was the master of Washington. But the Tesla and SpaceX boss left the capital with a tarnished image and threats of retaliation from President Trump, whom he verbally attacked. Elon Musk thus discovered that the ultra-rich remain subject to political power, as shown by other examples, from Russia to Mexico, according to this columnist for the Financial Times.
In a tongue-in-cheek phrase, American journalist and essayist Tom Wolfe once called Wall Street bankers "masters of the universe." Elon Musk, however, took it literally. He literally aims to colonize Mars.
But the billionaire experienced a rather brutal comeback to earth. After falling out with Donald Trump , the richest man in the world discovered, to his shock, that he was not the master of Washington... And even less the master of the universe.
Musk's fall is part of a global process. Decades of globalization have produced immensely wealthy oligarchs across the planet. But when financial and political power collide, there is only one outcome. Politics always wins.
In countries as diverse as Russia, China, Saudi Arabia – and now, the United States – oligarchs with personal political ambitions have all found themselves firmly reprimanded by those in power.
The triumph of politics over money could surprise Marxists as well as arrogant capitalists, convinced that politicians will always be
Courrier International
