An oligarchy is rule by a few, and in practice by the few who are rich. It is tempting to pin the state of U.S. politics on Donald Trump alone. In my reading he is the face, and the lasting force is concentrated wealth that shapes the law. The test is to look at who gains and who pays.
Take the tax and spending law he signed in July 2025. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan scorekeeper of Congress, estimates that it adds $3.4 trillion to deficits through 2034, or $4.1 trillion with interest. CBO’s household analysis of August 2025 shows where the money goes. The poorest tenth of households lose about $1,200 a year, mostly through cuts to Medicaid and food aid. The richest tenth gain about $13,600 a year.
The pattern is older than that law. In his first term Trump approved $8.4 trillion of new ten-year borrowing, against $4.3 trillion under Joe Biden through mid-2024. Most of it was bipartisan, which is part of the point. The largest partisan item was the 2017 tax cut, at $1.9 trillion.
Now follow the campaign money. One hundred billionaire families spent $2.6 billion on the 2024 federal elections, one dollar in every six. Elon Musk alone spent more than $290 million, then became the de facto leader of the new administration’s cost-cutting office. Yet Forbes counted more billionaires behind Kamala Harris than behind Trump, 81 to 51. The money sits on both sides, which is why removing one man would not fix it. Biden himself warned on leaving office that an oligarchy was taking hold.
The Federal Reserve shows the result. By mid-2026 the top 1% held 32.5% of the nation’s household wealth, and the bottom half held 2.3%.
Supporters answer that growth and tariffs cover the cost. CBO’s growth-adjusted estimate came out higher, not lower, because more borrowing raises interest rates. The Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs in February 2026, and CBO now projects a $2.1 trillion deficit for fiscal 2026.
Whether “oligarchy” is the right word is still argued among political scientists. The ledger is not. Identity sells the story, and money writes the law. Markets are tools, so the remedy is rules, not a change of face.
CBO’s site turns away automated requests, so each CBO figure here also carries a second source.