Tag Archives: oligarchs

The New Republic reports: Buried in the new House GOP reconciliation bill — the blueprint for Trump’s agenda — is a new and expanded giveaway largely benefiting wealthy investors, according to tax experts I spoke to. And the nitty-gritty of this neatly demonstrates how the “corporatist” side of the alleged GOP identity crisis is winning out. To see why, recall …

“The United States was more than just a nation. It’s a brand, it’s a universal brand, whether it’s our culture, our financial strength, our military strength. America rose beyond just being a country. It was like an inspiration for most of the world. And we’re eroding that brand right now. “In the financial markets, no brand compared to the brand …

Reuters reports: As the Trump administration intensifies efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark — or take it by force — some Silicon Valley tech investors are promoting the frozen island as a site for a so-called freedom city, a libertarian utopia with minimal corporate regulation, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The discussions are in early stages, but …

The New York Times reports: A liberal candidate for a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court overcame $25 million in spending from Elon Musk and defeated her conservative opponent on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported, in a contest that became a kind of referendum on Mr. Musk and his slashing of the federal government. With turnout extraordinarily high for …

“For younger people, bring in a new system, where part or whole of their payroll tax goes to their own personal retirement accounts. And that way, numerous studies have shown whether you just leave it in CDs, you’d have two to three times the retirement benefits that you get under the current system, and you would own it, not the …

Newsweek reports: On Sunday, Musk endorsed calls for the U.S. to leave the trans-Atlantic alliance. Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, recently wrote on X that the U.S. should “Exit NATO *now*!” a post that Musk reshared, adding, “We really should. Doesn’t make sense for America to pay for the defense of Europe.” Trump has criticized European countries for not …

The Daily Beast reports: The Washington Post is hiring—but apparently only if you’re the kind of journalist that will steer the paper further toward the right. Publisher Will Lewis recently met with Eliana Johnson, the editor-in-chief of the right-wing outlet The Washington Free Beacon, to discuss how she could help recruit more right-leaning reporters, according to Status. The move is …

The Associated Press reports: The Senate voted late Monday to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle. McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. At the …

Reuters reports: Elon Musk’s The Boring Company and Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) have signed an initial agreement to build the Dubai Loop, an underground high-speed transport network spanning 17km (10.6 miles), they said on Friday. The United Arab Emirates’ Artificial Intelligence Minister, Omar Al Olama, announced the project on a video interview with Elon Musk during the World …

The Washington Post reports: Linda McMahon, testifying before a Senate committee considering her nomination to be secretary of education, said she did not know whether a school would be legally permitted to offer a Black history class or allow clubs centered on racial or ethnic identity. She said she would “want to know what the clubs are doing.” “That’s pretty …

CBS News reports: President Trump is set to announce billions of dollars in private sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, CBS News has learned. OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle are planning a joint venture called Stargate, according to multiple people familiar with the deal. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is expected at the White House Tuesday afternoon, …

Eater DC reports: Tech titan Elon Musk is slated to be the highest bidder on D.C.’s trendy Line hotel. The recently inducted member of Trump’s billionaire boys club plans to turn the desirable Northwest digs with 220 rooms into a “private social club” of sorts, according to multiple sources familiar with the deal. A previously announced public auction for the …

Bloomberg News reports: Mark Zuckerberg wore a rare Swiss watch worth about $900,000 in a video explaining his company’s decision to end third-party fact checking on its social media platforms in the U.S. The Meta Platforms Inc. chairman sports a Greubel Forsey ‘Hand Made 1’ on his left wrist in the video posted to Facebook on Tuesday unveiling the policy …

Bloomberg News reports: The world’s 500 richest people got vastly richer in 2024, with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang leading the group of billionaires to a new milestone: A combined $10 trillion net worth. An indomitable rally in US technology stocks played a key role in turbocharging the trio’s wealth, as well as the fortunes of Larry Ellison, …

The New York Times reports: Mr. Musk has been using one of the cottages available for rent on Mr. Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago, The cottage where he has been staying, named Banyan, is several hundred feet away from the main house, according to a person who knows the property. Mr. Trump has bragged to people that Mr. Musk — the …

“H-1B visas? That’s not what it’s about. It’s about taking American jobs and bringing over essentially what have become indentured servants at lower wages. This thing’s a scam by the oligarchs in Silicon Valley to basically take jobs from American citizens, give them to what become indentured servants from foreign countries, and then pay ‘em less. Simple. To let them …

Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy writes on X: The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have …

The Daily Mail reports: Three sources told DailyMail.com they had been made aware of the Bezos wedding taking place on December 28. One well-connected member of the Aspen community said that the Amazon founder arrived with his entourage on a private jet into the city’s airport on Saturday. The rumor in town – as yet unconfirmed – is that Bezos …

Axios reports: Trump will nominate billionaire Howard Lutnick as Commerce secretary, a top transition source tells Axios. The Commerce Department will have a key role in implementing the tariffs Trump has vowed to implement — and Lutnick has been a vocal supporter. Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition, was hoping to become Treasury secretary, but Trump recently soured on the finalists …

Ars Technica reports: Elon Musk’s X updated its terms of service to steer user lawsuits to US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the same court where a judge who bought Tesla stock is overseeing an X lawsuit against the nonprofit Media Matters for America. The new terms that apply to users of the X social network say …