On Wednesday, President Joe Biden delivered a farewell address that wasn’t about accomplishments or legacy. It was a warning. His message was clear: concentrated power — in wealth, technology and misinformation — is pushing American democracy to the brink.
“An oligarchy is taking shape in America,” Biden said. According to Federal Reserve data, the top 1% controls more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. Billionaires like Elon Musk, with a net worth of $421 billion, dominate industries shaping the future — electric cars, artificial intelligence and space exploration. Mark Zuckerberg, through Meta, controls the information billions of people see and believe daily. “When so few control so much, democracy falters,” Biden warned.
This wasn’t anti-capitalist rhetoric. Biden explicitly defended free markets, but only when they are fair. “Breaking up monopolies isn’t about ending capitalism. It’s about saving it,” he said. He drew parallels to the Gilded Age, when tycoons like Rockefeller and Carnegie amassed vast wealth unchecked. The response was decisive: the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 curbed monopolistic practices, Standard Oil was broken into 34 companies in 1911 and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 dismantled utility monopolies that controlled 75% of America’s electricity. These actions were not about punishing success but protecting democracy from concentrated power.
Today’s threat extends beyond wealth to something more insidious: misinformation. Social media platforms have reduced content moderation, prioritizing profits over truth. A 2023 Princeton study found that 62% of Americans encounter false information daily, eroding trust in institutions and deepening divisions. “When lies spread faster than facts, democracy suffers,” Biden said.
The 2024 elections exposed another vulnerability. Billionaires spent $3.4 billion on campaigns — 15% more than in 2020 — to fund ads and buy influence. Biden didn’t mince words: “This isn’t democracy. It’s corruption.”
The danger of this concentrated power is part of a larger system Biden called the “tech-industrial complex,” a modern counterpart to Eisenhower’s 1961 warning about the “military-industrial complex.” Whether in wealth, technology or influence, unchecked power undermines democracy.
Biden proposed solutions: break up monopolies, require tech companies to disclose algorithms that manipulate what people see, reform campaign finance to limit billionaire influence and implement media literacy education in schools, as Finland has successfully done. “Democracy isn’t given. It’s fought for,” he said.
One particularly alarming change came quietly. In late 2023, several platforms, including Meta, cut back on fact-checking, citing cost reductions and “user freedom.” The results were immediate: misinformation flourished, unchallenged. People trusted what they saw, unaware they were being misled. Biden’s call to regulate this manipulation isn’t about limiting free speech but protecting the truth.
Yet, Biden’s address wasn’t entirely grim. He started and ended with hope, announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of dozens of hostages, including two Americans. “Even in dark times, progress is possible,” he said.
This wasn’t just a farewell. It was a call to action. The survival of democracy depends on whether Americans are willing to confront the oligarchy forming before their eyes. Will they demand fairness, truth and accountability — or let concentrated power decide their future? Biden left the room. The rest is up to us.
Massoud Amin is the chief technology officer at Renewable Energy Partners and the chairman and president of Energy Policy & Security Associates. He is also a professor emeritus and the former director and Honeywell H.W. Sweatt Chair of technological leadership at the University of Minnesota.
