As individuals, the founders and CEOs atop these corporate entities have way more power than even US corporate tradition usually provides.
And these gaps are enabled by a corporate structure that provides founders with enormous voting power and disproportionate ownership of what eventually become large corporations. Within the companies, they hold an extra level of voting power that exceeds even their share of the wealth.
This makes actually-existing Google and Meta a lot closer in internal power dynamics to Elon Musk-owned Twitter than to Microsoft. Despite the unusual internal structure, these are still publicly traded companies whose value is tied up in market expectations, and still massive employers whose functions depend on keeping their employees vaguely satisfied.
In fact, tech firms with ties to the attention economy make up the majority the very largest companies by market capitalization—what shareholders estimate they are worth. Needless to say they are a far smaller share of the global economy, whether measured in dollars of revenue or number of workers. Collectively, stock markets imagine that these companies have not just their present revenue streams, but future control over larger and critical part of the global economy.
Part of their monetary value is stories of future value, stories that may in part be fantastical. So aside from the usual asks around taxes, subsidies, and freedom from regulation, these oligarchs will be seeking a way for the US government to sustain the illusions and collective future fantasies that amplify their wealth. Five years after his ouster from office, former president Evo Morales is suddenly facing a serious investigation into his apparent sexual relationship with a minor at the height of this presidency in — However, the underlying charge of estupro roughly, but not exactly equivalent to statutory rape cannot be prosecuted without the participation of the alleged victim in the prosecution.
