Is the power of today’s wealthiest people different than in the past? It’s a question that’s been on my mind because of a recent conversation I had with a famous technology investor in Silicon Valley.
We were discussing how, as Big Tech has grown over the past 20 years, the number of start-ups in the US has fallen, and inequality and political polarisation have both risen. He seemed even more distressed about this than I was, which prompted my own optimism: “Well, remember that we’ve curbed monopoly power before — just think of the 19th-century railroad barons.” To this, the investor responded grimly, “Yes, but they couldn’t swing elections.”
That’s not entirely true, of course. Railroad tycoon Thomas Scott allegedly helped tip the 1876 presidential race to Rutherford B Hayes by using his wealth and connections to secure Hayes southern political support in exchange for his blessing Scott’s efforts to create the second transcontinental railroad. The deal done, Hayes was inaugurated four days later, having ridden to Washington aboard Scott’s private railway car.