Introduction
MediaJustice presented a political education series to help activists understand the ‘tech broligarchy’. Please note the series ran from February to May 2025 and some details may be out of date. However, it remains a valuable overview of the dynamics shaping economics and politics in the US and globally.
In Trump’s first 100 days in office, the tech bro executives— who we call the Tech Broligarchy — proudly flaunted their corporate-state collusion to surveil, criminalize, and control us for profit. From Musk’s DOGE purging federal agencies and workers that might regulate his businesses to Palantir’s overlooked role in scaling mass ICE raids and daylight abductions, these Broligarchs are directly executing policy that only benefit themselves while undermining our democracy.
MediaJustice’s WTF: The Rise of the Tech Broligarchy Toolkit is a companion resource to the seven-part political education webinar series, which exposes and resists these tech billionaires and their agenda during Trump’s first 100 days in office and beyond. Download the toolkit to bring these conversations into your communities and build our collective power against the Tech Broligarchy.
At the start of the series, we identified 14 Big Tech billionaires – or broligarchs – many of them front row at Trump’s inauguration. We defined oligarchs as individuals who wield their wealth for political power. Their primary motivation is to protect and expand their wealth. Their names range from well-known billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, to lesser known people like Peter Thiel, whose company Palantir has multi-million dollar contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump’s appointed AI and Crypto czar David Sacks, who has been given power to advise policy without approval from the Senate, is similar to another tech broligarch, Elon Musk, in his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In pulling back the curtain, we realized what we’re seeing isn’t just regular wealth inequality – this is a massive takeover of politics, our digital infrastructure, and our economy.
Check out the video playlist and accompanying viewing guides below to learn more about the tech broligarchy and ways our communities are fighting back:
- WTF Do We Do Now?
- WTF is the Tech Broligarchy?
- WTF What is the Broligracy Up to?
- WTF is happening with the TikTok Ban?
- WTF is Tech Doing on Immigration? (Versión en Español)
- WTF is the Deal with AI?
- WTF are Data Centers?
Excerpt: The 14 Faces of the Tech Broligarchy
The Usual Suspects: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos
Common threads:
- Their combined net worth is over $800 billion.
- All three are heavily invested in building AI and data centers, and generate money from advertising online.
- Two of them own social media platforms: Elon Musk with X, and Zuckerberg with Facebook and Instagram. Bezos isn’t far behind, owning the Washington Post.
- Two of them have their own aerospace companies: Elon Musk with SpaceX and Jeff Bezos with Blue Origin.
- How they amassed political and economic power:
- Elon Musk was the biggest contributor to Trump’s campaign last year. He donated over $290 million and founded a large pro-Trump super PAC that raised over 260 million in 2024.
- Musk was also tapped by Trump to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
- Both Bezos and Zuckerberg gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
- Bezos has made his money from e-commerce through Amazon.com and cloud computing through Amazon Web Services which charges businesses, companies, and organizations to host their websites. Netflix for example uses AWS.
- Zuckerberg made his money from digital advertising on Facebook and Instagram. He also is invested heavily in virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
The Basic Broligarchy: Sam Altman, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Larry Ellison
Common threads:
- Most of them donated $1 million each to Trump’s Inauguration Fund, all except for Ellison but he’s donated to Republicans like Tim Scott and Marco Rubio.
- The companies they own are ones we likely interact with every day from Open AI with Sam Altman, which created ChatGPT, Apple and Tim Cook, Google and Sundar Pichai, Microsoft with Satya Nadella, and Oracle with Larry Ellison.
- All are investing in artificial intelligence and building data centers.
The Investors: Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, Masayoshi Son, Joe Lonsdale
Common threads:
- All of these men run venture capital firms. They are the money behind the Tech Broligarchy.
- They’re not only big campaign contributors, they’ve hosted fundraisers for Trump and many of them are actively taking on roles inside the Trump administration or helping staff this new administration.
- JD Vance, the Vice President, has direct ties to most of these names since he made his money working for a venture capital firm run by Peter Thiel.
- Other background information on these bros:
- Peter Thiel, David Sacks, and Joe Lonsdale were the money behind a company named Palantir. Some of you may know of Palantir through the work of Mijente and their No Tech for ICE campaign as Palantir provides a platform that allows cops and immigration officials to process large quantities of data for surveillance.
- David Sacks was recently named AI and Crypto czar by Trump. It’s a role where he’ll get to advise on AI and crypto policy without needing approval from the Senate. Similar to Elon Musk and his role with DOGE.
- Masayoshi Son is a name you should remember. He runs SoftBank, a huge venture capital firm. Most notably Softbank alongside fellow Broligarchs, Larry Ellison and Sam Altman, announced the construction of a $500 billion data center in Texas called Stargate. We’ll talk more about this in a future webinar.
- Marc Andreessen is an important figure in the Broligarchy. He founded Netscape, which those of us around in the 90s remember Netscape as one of the first major web browsers. For the last couple of decades, Andreessen has been investing in tech firms. He used to be a donor to the Democratic Party until Trump and is the most visible face of Silicon Valley’s migration towards the right.
The Military Bro: Palmer Luckey
- Palmer Luckey represents the way the Broligarchy is amassing wealth using taxpayer money. Luckey’s company, Anduril, is a major developer of drones for the Department of Defense. Last week they announced they’re building a $900 million drone and missile factory in Ohio. Plenty of tax breaks and state and federal grants are subsidizing the construction of that factory.
- Luckey has supported Donald Trump since 2016, including donating to a Trump Super PAC in 2024.
Other Noteworthy Takeaways on The Tech Broligarchy
- Governments are a significant customer for the kinds of technology these tech bros make (Defense Technology, Financial Technology, Aerospace, and Cloud Computing, just to name a few).
- Beyond campaign contributions, many of these tech bros have their own philanthropic organizations that give out millions of dollars to think tanks, law firms, and other nonprofits that align with their business interests.
- Many of these tech bros were under investigation or being sued by federal agencies like the Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice. Many of those proceedings are shutting down under Trump.
Access the Resources
Related resources from MediaJustice:
- BroBots Vs. The People Toolkit
- Toolkit for the Field: An Organizer’s Guide to Stop Data Centers
- Media Capture: Who Controls the Story Controls the Future
Explore Further
- How to Stop a Data Centre: Tools for Community Resistance
- Movement Learning Catalyst: A Guide to Learning for Systemic Change
- Rising Narratives for Radical Futures: Talking Across Difference for a Multiracial Democracy
- Using Race Class Gender Narratives to Fight Fascism
- Exploring Narrative Practices for Broad-based Movements in Contexts of Democratic Decline
- Tactics Used by Fossil Fuel Companies to Suppress Critique and Obstruct Climate Action
