The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway - No Mercy / No Malice: Rise of the Toligarchs

Episode Date: May 24, 2025

As read by George Hahn. https://www.profgalloway.com/rise-of-the-toligarchs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I'm Scott Galloway, and this is No Mercy, No Malice. The super rich, the.1%, are turning their backs on America and the values that paved the way for their prosperity. Rise of Toligarchs, as read by George Hahn. The 0.1% have insulated themselves from the general public with their own schools, health care, transportation, security, and justice system. The members of this rarified class are unfazed by the chaos unfolding outside their gated properties. They're indifferent to Roe v. Wade's demise, immigration roundups, and rising prices at Walmart.

If a family member has an unwanted pregnancy or mobs arrive with pitchforks, they'll always have access to Mifepristone and residency in Dubai, London, or Milan. They're invested in hedge funds and fine art, not in the future of America. With the means to hire shrewd defense attorneys and aggressive PR firms that weaponize social media bots, the super-rich are protected by the law, but not bound by it. The lower 99% are bound by the law, but not protected by it. Living in their bubble, the extremely rich express shock and horror, but opt not to rock the $300 million boat. Along with prominent Republicans, Democrats, and corporate CEOs,

they're brothers in the disarmament of our democracy. They're forging an unholy alliance, tolerating the descent into kleptocracy and the slow burn toward fascism. If the heat pierces the shields they've erected, these transnational oligarchs, or toligarchs as I've labeled them, can grab their bags, write a check, and purchase a golden visa to Greece or Portugal. With vast wealth comes enormous influence. Money is a proxy for power. The top 0.1% have more than five times as much wealth as the bottom 50%. Just 100 billionaire families invested a record $2.6 billion in federal elections last year, one of every $6 spent overall.

These wealthy individuals could galvanize politicians and push back against policies that undermine American values, but they're largely quiet. When you fail to speak out against threats to democracy, equality, and the rule of law, you turn your back on the people and country that elevated you to the iron throne of prosperity. Even the Lannisters always paid their debts. There's a clear pattern. As wealth concentrates, political spending capacity increases, which secures policy outcomes that further concentrate wealth,

creating a self-reinforcing cycle that undermines democratic equality. The most dramatic acceleration of this trend occurred after Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that opened the doors to unlimited spending on American elections. Consider the following stats. In 1963, the wealthiest American families, the top 1%, had 36 times the wealth of families in the middle. By 2022, that had grown to 71 times. Billionaire political spending is up 160-fold since Citizens United, and the wealthiest 400 US

families paid an average federal individual income tax rate of just 8.2% between 2010 and 2018, according to a 2021 White House study. In sum, as wealth inequality gets worse, it gets even worse. In his first 100 days as president in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved swiftly to lift the country out of the Great Depression, building the foundation for his New Deal. As historians have observed, he had another objective, to prove democracy works. But the president's programs sparked criticism

from rich Americans who regarded him as a traitor to his class. A powerful group, including the DuPonts, the founders of General Motors, and assorted oil millionaires, launched the American Liberty League to fight back. Today we again need some bold class traders to address America's worsening inequalities. Over the past two decades, the top 0.1% of American households have seen their share of the country's wealth rise from about 10% to 14%, according to Federal Reserve data. During the same period, the bottom 50% of Americans have watched their stake go from

about 2.5% to 2.5%. More than $22 trillion and counting is in the hands of the 0.1%, while just $4 trillion is spread out across the bottom half of the country. New data last month showed that $1 trillion of wealth, more than the value of Switzerland's economy, was created for the 19 richest American households in 2024. It would take 726,000 years for 10 typical American workers to earn the $365 billion, the country's 10 richest billionaires made in the past 12 months.

The rapidly expanding class of toligarchs remains silent. Not because they're content with the disorder, disruption, and erosion of American values, but because they continue to get richer. They lack the courage to make any noise, and their rights are largely portable. And the gap would only widen when Trump's big, beautiful tax bill, which would take from the poor and give to the rich. The top 0.1% on average would reportedly gain more than $389,000 in after-tax income in 2026.

Just a few decades ago, when the rich felt more invested in America, such stats would have triggered a greater outcry. However, things have changed. Rather than using its platform to strengthen America, the country's aristocracy is focusing more on its exit strategy if shit gets real. When the wealthiest 0.1% talk about diversification today, there's a good chance they're thinking about passports, not private equity. One part of the escape plan are those golden visas, which allow foreigners to live and work in another country by making a large investment, starting at around $280,000 and stretching into the millions, and often

offer a path to a second passport. Among the most attractive destinations are Greece, Italy, Malta, Panama, Portugal, and Thailand. One investment migration advisor, no doubt a growing business, said in January that it had registered a 1000% increase in interest in second residencies and citizenships over the past five years. Bloomberg has chronicled how rich Americans are flex-working on the French Riviera, preparing to swoop in if New Zealand relaxes its ban on foreigners buying homes and flocking to Spain despite the end of its golden visa. In

Britain, meanwhile, record numbers of Americans applied for citizenship in 2024, especially in the months leading up to the start of President Trump's term. The surge in interest in getting another passport was attributed to the president's re-election bid and victory in November, as well as tax changes in the UK that have pushed rich Americans to obtain British passports before they leave the country. The number of Americans buying prime London real estate in Knightsbridge, Mayfair, and other expensive neighborhoods surpassed Chinese purchasers for the first time last year. A story in The Guardian earlier this month quoted a chef and business owner in the Cotswolds saying the region was becoming

the Hamptons of England. Globally, a record 135,000 millionaires are projected to migrate to a new country this year. In the UK, where I've been living for a few years, not a day goes by without a story about millionaires fleeing the country in search of lower tax jurisdictions or greater economic stability. A record number of British citizens have applied for Irish passports five years post-Brexit

as they strive to gain backdoor access to the European Union. At the same time, the U.S. is hoping to attract toligarchs moving in the opposite direction. While America carries out a wave of arrests and visa revocations of students, it's moving forward with a new gold card visa program that could lead to permanent residency for wealthy individuals who are willing to pay a fee of about $5 million. Anybody who is willing, i.e. needs, to pay $5 million for a visa to a western country is not moving but fleeing. American prosperity and rights blessed me with the opportunity to move to the UK.

These included access to family planning that staved off poverty for my single mom, the free and accessible education I got at UCLA Berkeley thanks to affirmative action programs, i.e. Pell grants, and the country's culture of entrepreneurship. The US also offered the rule of law and consistency, which created the deepest pools of capital in the world. I've raised close to $1 billion for my startups and projects. An unrivaled talent pool of citizens and the best and brightest from abroad, immigrants, numerous European and Asian clients who enjoyed working

with the good guys, Americans, and sane fiscal management that enabled massive investments in the technologies that have made me and hundreds of my colleagues wealthy. Those factors opened many doors for my family, including this one allowing me to cross the Atlantic for a spell. This is not a time to plan an exit or stay abroad, but to return home. When I head back next year, I'll use my voice and proximity to money and power to push for change to make America America

again. And by the way, for those suffering from TDS, Trump Devotion Syndrome, hope is on the way. EBA, Evidence Based Analysis, or PBR, Basic Pattern Recognition, should eventually pry people away from the criminality and stupidity of this administration. For now, the toligarchs are aligned with Fortune 500 CEOs, who privately believe the country is on a dangerous course, but publicly cower. Just as the first corporate titans to stand up for what's right will reap reputational and commercial rewards, toligarh class traitors

will earn a place in history books as American patriots. At a minimum, if your blessings have not translated into the courage and obligation to use your power and platform to publicly voice concern? Then do us all a favor and privately shut the fuck up. Life is so rich. you