The New Crown: Tech Billionaires and Trump as the Modern Monarchy

While comparing figures like Donald Trump or the CEOs of the world's biggest tech companies to King George III may seem incendiary, it's through the concentration of wealth, influence, and power among these modern-day elites that a striking parallel emerges. This echelon, with its eerie overtones, mirrors what had been solely exercised by absolute monarchy.

The shift from monarchy to corporate empires has resulted in a few individuals shaping global policies and economies, distancing themselves from the effects on the masses. This article aims to draw parallels between King George III and today's elite through economic trends, power concentration, and policy manipulation. A closer look at the actions and influence of top tech billionaires provides a deeper understanding of how modern-day CEOs have assumed the role of a 'new crown.'

1.Concentration of Wealth and Power

King George III symbolized accumulated wealth and, therefore, a concentration of power in the hands of a single monarch. Similarly, today's global technological leaders wield immense influence, increasingly surpassing many national governments. Figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Tim Cook head mighty empires that dominate the marketplace and even dictate global economic policies. The disparity in global wealth is more pronounced than ever: nearly half of all global wealth is controlled by the wealthiest 1%, a trend most evident in Silicon Valley and among the tech titans. This stark inequality underscores the immense power and influence these individuals hold, akin to the monarchs of old.

The market capitalization of companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet (Google's parent company) is higher than the GDP of some of the world's largest economies. In 2024, Apple alone had a valuation of over $2.5 trillion, while Microsoft and Amazon were within a nose at over $1.5 trillion in market cap each. In perspective, that is larger than the GDP of the United Kingdom, the world's sixth-largest economy. The power exerted through or by these tech billionaires extend beyond their companies: they influence governments, set global economic trends, and shape whole industries. On the other hand, their wealth stands in jarring contrast to the financial conditions of the vast majority of the world's population—a real-life impersonation of the monopolistic rule of King George III, who controlled the wealth of the British monarchy while the colonies struggled.

2. Austerity Imposed from Above

King George III's imposition of taxes and economic hardship on the American colonies without representation spurred the American Revolution. The monarchy's grip on monetary policy disregarded the interests and well-being of ordinary people. Fast forward to today, and similar tactics are employed by influential tech figures and their corporate networks.

First, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law during Trump's presidency, which overwhelmingly favored the wealthy and corporations.

The same storyline is playing out among tech billionaires and multinational corporations that consistently lobby for tax breaks as their workers struggle to keep up with austerity measures. The focus of many global governments has shifted to tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and fiscal policies that prioritize corporate profits over social services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure. These policies have a direct and often detrimental impact on the majority of the population, making them feel the weight of these decisions in their daily lives.

Tech companies engage in practices that allow them to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Amazon, for example, paid $0 in federal taxes for several years despite earning billions in revenue. Meanwhile, Apple, Facebook, and other behemoths have been accused of exploiting tax loopholes and hiding profits in overseas tax havens. This represents a modern echo of King George's disdain for the colonies' pecuniary interests as today's rich and powerful continue insulating themselves from contributing to the public good.

3. Economic Insulation from Crises

While King George III stayed in his comfort, his policies brought immense suffering to the colonies. Likewise, today, billionaires and tech CEOs are shielded from the economic crises they abet. It was the COVID-19 pandemic that, with new intensity, underlined the chasm in wealth as it fattened the fortunes of the world's billionaires. At the same time, millions of ordinary people lost their jobs, homes, and businesses. Combined, the wealth of the world's billionaires increased by more than $3 trillion in 2020 alone, even as the pandemic plunged the global economy into recession. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his fortune grow by more than $70 billion, while companies like Zoom and Microsoft saw their stocks rise as demand for remote work solutions skyrocketed.

Meanwhile, small businesses went out of business, millions lost their jobs, and millions fell into poverty.

If anything, its insulation from the economic consequences reminds one of King George's disconnection from the suffering of the American colonists under his rule. Billionaires and corporate elites often shelter their wealth in private islands, offshore accounts, and complex tax shelters that keep them immune from the financial turbulence affecting the rest of society. As the masses suffer increasingly, the elite are cushioned in ways that could hardly have been imagined in the days of monarchs.

4. Control Over Information and Communication

The power of the monarchs, like King George III, was kept partly through their ability to control information and communication. Today, this is where the tech giants exercise their power. Companies like Google, Facebook—now Meta, and Twitter can block or share and even influence public opinion on a global scale. Today, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Sundar Pichai of Google have much greater control over access to information than any monarch could ever have had. They alone determine, for example, what billions will read in news feeds and the search results provided to them. This level of influence over public opinion is a clear demonstration of the power these tech giants hold.

It has given a few CEOs the power to shape political discourse, influence elections, and manipulate social movements rather than leaving such power in governments or traditional media outlets.

This concentration of information power has raised serious concerns.

Social media platforms have been accused of amplifying misinformation, suppressing dissent, and enabling authoritarian regimes. Sometimes, these platforms have been used to repress democratic processes, examples including interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election through social media channels.

The CEOs of these tech giants retain the same level of control as King George III over the content that shapes narratives in the modern world.

5. Exploitation of Labor and Resources

Much as now, labor and resources in its colonies were grossly exploited for the economic growth of the British Empire. Today, tech companies follow a similar pattern: they depend on global supply chains that use exploitative labor practices and environmental degradation. These corporations take advantage of low-earning workers in underdeveloped countries under questionable conditions.

Amazon, for example, has been taken to task for its treatment of workers in its warehouses, where grueling conditions, inadequate pay, and dangerous working environments have been reported. Apple has faced criticism for using conflict minerals mined from war-torn parts of the world and for labor practices in factories in China and other developing countries, where workers are often subjected to poor conditions and low wages. These contemporary practices eerily resemble colonial extraction of wealth in which the labor of the colonized was extracted for the benefit of the crown and empire.

6. Resistance to Regulation and Accountability

King George III resisted the colonial call for representation and accountability, thus heaping tension that would blossom into revolution. Today, tech billionaires and corporate elites usually resist any effort to regulate their industries or otherwise hold them accountable for their actions.

Tech companies spend millions of dollars every year lobbying against regulations that would protect workers, consumers, and the environment. For example, Amazon has fought to raise employee wages, while companies like Facebook and Google have fought regulations designed to protect user privacy.

The tech CEOs have also resisted antitrust measures, as in the ongoing battles between the U.S. government and companies such as Google and Apple over monopolistic practices.

7. The Tech Mind Control and Surveillance Paradigm

The most stunning parallel between the rule of King George III and the modern tech elite is the rise of an omnipresent surveillance and mind control paradigm. Whereas the monarchs of old strove for the control of thoughts and actions of their subjects, today's technology giants wield inordinate power over the minds and behaviors of billions through advanced algorithms, data harvesting, and surveillance technologies.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities to keep users hooked through dopamine-driven feedback loops. These technological tools collect massive amounts of data on a person and then manipulate that data in everything from buying habits to political opinion. The recent scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica was an example of how personal data had been weaponized to influence elections; this is a clear demonstration of how tech companies shape public thought and action.

Besides social media, however, the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning has created an even more insidious control. Recommendation systems on platforms like YouTube and Netflix use AI to drive what content users consume, shaping their worldview. Meanwhile, homes have turned into surveillance hubs, from smart devices down to the core of the Internet of Things, with Amazon, through Alexa, and Google, through Nest, recording everything from daily routines to private conversations. Other pretexts under which the surveillance state has been extended include national security and convenience.

Governments and corporations combine their efforts in ways that almost nobody knows about, let alone consents to. Facial recognition technologies, spearheaded by outfits such as Clearview AI, have been taken to track individuals in public spaces, while predictive policing algorithms reinforce deep-seated bias. It makes a world in which privacy will increasingly be scarce and in which people are relentlessly pursued by the eyes of both corporate and state actors. This new paradigm of mind control and surveillance constitutes a modern version of tyranny in which the tech elite exert power—not through the exertion of brutal force—but subtly through the manipulation of information and behavior. There is no mistaking the parallel between how King George III sought to subjugate the colonies and this new monarch from the digital world who seeks dominion over the minds of all.

8. The Vision of 2025: A New Feudalism

In a world where the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few is growing ever larger, critics argue we are heading into new feudalism, with a small caste of tech billionaires holding all the power and the rest of society relegated to serfdom.

This includes the rise of automation, artificial intelligence, and the growing dominance of multinational corporations, seen as efforts to consolidate power further, leaving the majority of the population behind.

The "Great Reset" and the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" are terms coined by the World Economic Forum and other conclave elites to describe a future world dominated by a few giant tech companies. In this world, the great majority will have to adjust themselves to climate change, economic insecurity, and automation while the corporate elite keeps prospering.

9. Over-taxation without Representation and the Rise of Technocracy

The rallying cry for the American Revolution was "no taxation without representation," as the colonists took on the repressive policies of King George III. Today, it is a fight with people with low incomes and the middle class again bearing the heavy load, as tech billionaires and corporations are taking advantage of loopholes to pay their share. 

This modern form of over-taxation without representation is further exacerbated by the rise of technocracy, wherein unelected tech elites wield disproportionate influence over public policy. Through direct lobbying, campaign contributions, and partnerships with governments, tech companies shape legislation to serve their interests at the expense of the poor and middle class. This means that the general population is made to implement austerity measures, while the rich get unprecedented tax breaks and subsidies. This increasing chasm between the haves and the have-nots is characteristic of the new oligarchy wherein a few tech billionaires and corporate chiefs wield more power than the elected representatives themselves.

The New Crown of 2025

The similarities between King George III and today's tech billionaires are striking and troubling. Just as the British monarchy wielded power to enrich itself at the expense of the colonies, today's corporate elite exercise tremendous influence over global economies while insulating themselves from the consequences of their actions; in this, a new kind of aristocracy, one of concentration of wealth, power, and information, will be brought about to alter the world for generations to come. Adding the tech mind control and surveillance paradigm underlines how deep this modern monarchy reaches. In a world where a few control economies and policies, yet also where billions' thoughts and behaviors are controlled, the tech elite established dominance rivaling even the most absolute monarchies of history.

While this remains debated—the role of technology billionaires and political elites in shaping the future—what is not as arguable is that the "new crown" is no longer worn by monarchs but by those at the commanding heights of modern technologies and economies. Inequality keeps rising, global crises multiply, and the call for system-level change will only grow louder, necessarily challenging the very premises of the new global monarchy.

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