It’s no secret that Donald Trump loves to be loved. The soon-to-be 47th president lavishes praise on dictators and strongmen, so long as they make him feel loved. Gushing like a schoolgirl about Russian dictator President Vladimir Putin, Trump once said, “If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him,” but when it comes to Americans, if the praise is gratuitous enough—and the wallet deep enough—Trump will skip right over praise and go straight to reward.
The mega-wealthy, like Elon Musk, who backed his campaign, are set to see their investments double as he rewards them left and right for their friendship, or solidarity, or whatever binds those people together. That guaranteed payout is like a siren’s call for the morally bankrupt, and is encouraging other wealthy people to hop onboard the Trump Train.
It’s no secret that Elon Musk has been heavily involved in Trump’s reelection. The world’s wealthiest man gave just under 300 million to Trump’s campaign, and hosted million-dollar giveaways of dubious legal status. His antics prompted the Justice Department to send him a strongly worded letter with no substantial threat to back it up, all but affirming that the wealthy live by different rules than the rest of us.
It really shouldn’t be surprising that Trump’s cabinet is practically lined with gold. His 2016 picks were worth a combined total of just over 3 billion dollars, with Betsy DeVos sitting on more than half of the amount. His 2024 cabinet makes the first look like a pauper’s paradise, even with DeVos’s absence. Though many of his nominees have yet to be confirmed, the cabinet’s net worth is nearing $475 billion, and it only includes 8 people so far.
Frank Bisignano, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Steve Witkoff are all worth at least a billion dollars. Jared Isaacman is rapidly approaching Howard Lutnick‘s 2 billion net worth. Warren Stephens is sitting at about 3.4, while Steven Feinberg is worth about 5 billion. And of course, Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes the cake, with a net worth of over 400 billion dollars at the time of writing.
It’s without a doubt the wealthiest Cabinet in American history — and many of the players have zero experience in government, and aren’t required to give up any potential conflicts of interest. The deluge of wealthy men inserting themselves into policymaking sent warning shocks through other developed nations. The Australian government responded by introducing legislation that would block donors from giving more than $20,000 per year. Of course, the Australian wealthy contingent found a potential loophole in less than 48 hours, since it applies to a single politician and not an entire party.
Beyond the wealthy donors, rumors flew in late November that longtime Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn was offering nominations for cash payments between $30,000 and $100,000. The recently fired staffer reportedly wandered around Mar-a-Lago offering to hype up anyone willing to shell out, including Scott Bessenet, who was in the running against Mr. Lutnick for Treasury secretary. Bessenet lost the race.
No one should be surprised by the billionaires closing ranks, especially in the wake of the slaying of millionaire UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been nothing if not candid about their contempt for working people. Earlier this year, the pair had a lovely discussion praising one another for their treatment of striking workers. “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump told Musk back in August. “I look at what you do. You walk in and say, ‘You want to quit?’ I won’t mention the name of the company but they go on strike and you say, ‘That’s OK. You’re all gone,’” he said, as Musk chuckled.
The working class won Trump this election, based on promises already being exposed as lies. It’s clear based on the people he surrounds himself with that there is only one class he wants to further the interests of, and it’s nowhere near the middle.