President Biden warns of the rise of a new American ‘oligarchy’

President Joe Biden used his final address from the Oval Office to deliver a somber warning about the threat posed by the “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of wealthy and well-connected individuals, a thinly veiled reference to billionaire technology executives who have been increasingly signaling their desire to work closely with President-elect Donald Trump. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” President Biden said. “We see the consequences all across America, and we’ve seen it before.” President Biden likened the current crop of tech moguls to the “robber barons” of the 19th century, men like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Recalling President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address warning about the military-industrial complex, President Biden decried a “tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country.”