Is democracy threatened by billionaires?

Our world is full of paradoxes, and the most obvious is that of wealth. Since the beginning of the 2020s, while the world has experienced the coronavirus health crisis and inflation linked to global conflicts, among other things, the number of billionaires has increased.

Not by much, and very few, if any, "ordinary" people are among them. When we analyze the ultrarich caste, we realize that 40% of them are heirs, while the others, like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, have generally profited from the launch of a new technology.

Yet these billionaires, who pay virtually no tax at all, have a considerable effect on Western politics and democracies. Studies have shown that, in both Germany and the USA, most laws desired by the less affluent classes of the population are rejected, whereas those of the ultra-rich are almost universally voted through and implemented. Why is this?

With so much money, these wealthy people know how to get their way. This may involve outright corruption, but more often than not, they'll act by blackmailing people into taking jobs if legislation is made tougher on them. They will also regularly act as patrons of the arts, threatening to withdraw their marbles from organizations, museums, clubs and the like if public authorities refuse their requests.

Perhaps this is why former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said in a 2015 interview that his country was now much more of an oligarchy than a democracy. True, the less fortunate still have a majority of votes, but they are constantly being crushed. What's more, the wealthy are buying up more and more of the media, stifling any possible criticism of tax havens and the like. The question of reducing inequality is therefore at the very heart of democratic survival.

Running time: 26min26