“Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy? July 25, 2025 By Oxfam America Oxfam explains what oligarchy means for the U.S. and the world. For years, Oxfam—along with advocates and activists around the world—have argued that the extreme concentration of wealth leads to the extreme concentration of power, allowing an ultra-rich few to tighten their control over governments, economies, and media.When power belongs to just a few, democracy suffers as extreme inequality worsens. Oligarchy isn’t created overnight—decades of policies and politics across parties in favor of giant corporations and the ultra-rich have got us here.Americans should brace for even higher levels of inequality under this Trump administration. His administration has a blueprint that is taking us deeper into an oligarchy that threatens democracy, freedoms, and a more equal future.”

Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy?

“So what does it mean that American oligarchy is now so brazenly out in the open? Joining host Ralph Ranalli are Harvard Kennedy School Professor Archon Fung and Harvard Law School Professor Larry Lessig, who say it could an inflection point that will force Americans to finally confront the country’s trend toward rule by the wealthy, but that it’s by no means certain that that direction can be changed anytime soon.”

Oligarchy in the open: What happens now as the U.S. is forced to confront its plutocracy problem?