The billionaire Larry Ellison was once described by one of Donald Trump's advisors as a shadow president.

That's according to the reporter Jake LaHootz account in Wired. It captured how little separation now

exists between private wealth and government

power. Three years ago, the Washington Post reported, citing court documents and a participant,

that Ellison participated in the infamous post-election phone call discussing strategies for overturning

the results of the 2020 election. And ever since then, it's become clear

that Ellison is not just another billionaire executive.

Like other super wealthy tech founders,

Ellison has established himself as a political actor.

And unlike elected officials,

he's accountable to exactly zero voters.

The Ellison family doesn't hide this

and openly touts its proximity

to power. Speaking on CNBC this week, Larry Ellison's son, David Ellison, referring to the

rumored Paramount Warner Brothers mega merger, said, quote, we've had great conversations with the

president about this, end quote. While you may have read reports that Netflix is set to acquire Warner Brothers for $83 billion,

that deal needs FCC approval.

And based on Trump's own statements, it's likely that that really means it needs Trump's approval.

And for various reasons, including the fact that the Paramount bid would give the Ellison's control of CNN, Trump is thought to be more likely to approve Paramount's bid rather than Netflix's.

And if that's what happens, it would represent the deliberate consolidation of media power in the hands of a billionaire family with a reported record of attempting to subvert democracy,

enabled by a president who has made clear

that he wants a deciding role in the fate of one of the world's biggest and most influential

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