By Donald Trump’s second inauguration made one thing unmistakably clear: billionaires wield incredible influence in this administration.
Onstage with Trump were Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk. Six billionaires have been appointed to cabinet level positions with seven more billionaires appointed to high level positions in the administration. It was a Billionaire Coup—one that’s undermining democracy and driving the planet toward ecological ruin.
This didn’t just happen overnight—or by accident. In the 1980s, policy and regulatory changes laid the groundwork for extreme wealth accumulation. The deregulation of financial markets, tax code changes favoring the very wealthy (such as the Tax Reform Act of 1986), and the weakening of labor’s collective bargaining power for low and middle income workers are all contributing factors. The result? In 1980, the U.S. had just 13 billionaires. By 2025, there were 902.
Wealth inequality is now the norm. Globally, Western nations consume a grossly imbalanced percentage of resources while the rate of poverty is simultaneously increasing. This inequality is eroding basic democratic norms and institutions, and it’s also driving environmental collapse.
The wealthiest 1% consume far more than the rest of us, generating more carbon emissions than the bottom 66% combined. Since 1990, the richest 10% have been responsible for two-thirds of global warming.
The rich don’t just over-consume. As Trump’s second administration is making abundantly clear, they are also directing policy and controlling the key institutions meant to regulate the economy. They prop up an unequal system of ever-increasing consumption and production, driving emissions and environmental harm at the expense of others’ land, resources, and autonomy.
In just eight months, Trump’s anti-climate cabinet has slashed decades of environmental protections, greenlit coal and offshore drilling, blocked renewable energy projects, and opened up millions of hectares of public land to oil drilling and logging. It’s a billionaire smash and grab at the expense of a livable planet.
The political and moral challenge of our time is clear: We must fight for economic equity, environmental sustainability, and the return of empathy to our political systems. We need a system that uses resources sustainably and distributes them fairly—so that everyone, everywhere, has a shot at a good life.
