Billionaires who support autocrats have no guarantee that the autocrat will grant them benefits once elected. Having an autocrat’s ear does not necessarily last.
It is quite common to see autocrats discard their supporters.
“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.” Dune, Frank Herbert. This means that when you bring someone to power who can destroy your wealth, you effectively give them control over that wealth. The ultimate power is force, not money. When the ultra-rich support a violent person, they transfer control of their own wealth to that person. The force acquired through the money of the rich allows autocrats to appropriate the wealth of the rich. The ultra-rich take a huge risk when they arm or support autocrats.
For example, Elon Musk donated money to support Donald Trump’s campaign. Donald Trump asked him to carry out unpopular tasks, such as firing civil servants. When Elon Musk criticized Donald Trump’s political decisions, he was ousted from the White House and threatened with being sent to South Africa.
For example, in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy received financial support for his campaign from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. “In 2011, the first Libyan civil war broke out, and from March to October, there was an international military intervention in Libya, led by France at the head of the Western coalition, during which Gaddafi was killed.” Affaire Sarkozy-Kadhafi – Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affaire_Sarkozy-Kadhafi
For example, when the Soviet Union collapsed, a handful of oligarchs amassed vast fortunes by taking advantage of the chaos. They seized control of the country’s natural resources. In 1999, they asked Yeltsin to appoint Vladimir Putin as prime minister, a former KGB agent unknown to the public whom they believed they could control. They financially supported Vladimir Putin’s presidential campaign. Once in power, Vladimir Putin took their fortunes away from them, one by one.
How Putin Conquered Russia’s Oligarchy – npr: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/03/29/1088886554/how-putin-conquered-russias-oligarchy
For example, in 1973, when socialist Salvador Allende won the elections, Chile’s ultra-rich refused to share their wealth with the rest of the population. These ultra-rich individuals equipped Augusto Pinochet’s divisions with modern military equipment and used their contacts in the United States to support General Pinochet’s coup. Once in power, Pinochet appropriated the wealth of the ultra-rich, such as the copper mines. In The House of the Spirits (La casa de los espíritus), Isabel Allende describes the white, conservative minority willing to do anything to avoid mixing and sharing with the indigenous people, even resorting to violence. They lost everything after General Pinochet came to power.
The House of the Spirits – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Spirits
For example, in 1931, when the Spanish Republicans won the elections in Spain, wealthy landowners and the Catholic Church created the Nationalist faction, which armed General Francisco Franco and his rebel army in Morocco. General Franco prepared an attack to purge Spain of Socialists and Republicans. From 1936 to 1939, the Spanish Civil War broke out. Republicans, socialists, intellectuals, and homosexuals—in other words, all enemies of the church and wealthy industrialists—were massacred. This was known as the White Terror. Franco also received military aid from Nazi Germany. In 1940, Franco expropriated the captains of industry as a token of his support for Nazi Germany to repay Hitler. Mining and industrial resources were offered to Germany. The ultra-rich who had supported Franco in suppressing strikers and Republicans found themselves stripped of their wealth.
Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War) – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalist_faction_(Spanish_Civil_War)
White Terror (Spain) – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Terror_(Spain)
Spain’s Oft-Forgotten Nazi Ties – Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/spains-oft-forgotten-ties-to-the-nazis-180981304/
For example, Adolf Hitler. German industrialists became wealthy during World War I by selling weapons. The German Empire collapsed, giving way to the Weimar Republic. German workers were the best treated in Europe, but they still wanted more social progress and to take political power by organizing themselves into political parties and unions. This displeased German industrialists, who employed veterans of World War I — who had served in the imperial army. They asked them to violently repress the workers, especially during the Spartacist revolt in 1918. They ordered assassinations, they were violent towards workers’ demonstrations, etc. This caused the workers’ movement to collapse. Hitler was part of these “Freikorps.” Once they achieved their goal, they stopped supporting the “Freikorps” and most of them went to prison. That’s where Hitler wrote Mein Kampf. Industrialists then thought they could get even richer if there was another war. They offered to finance Hitler’s 1933 legislative campaign in exchange for a new war, thinking they could manipulate him. They asked him to get rid of his armed forces, the SA, often former members of the Freikorps, who had committed acts of violence to intimidate the population and those who wanted to stand for election. This event is known as the Night of the Long Knives. They promised jobs and prosperity. Once in power, Hitler proved uncontrollable. He led Germany into numerous conflicts that led to World War II. To organize his war effort, Hitler did not hesitate to plunder wealthy industrialists, with the exception of those who submitted entirely to his will (Krupp, Porsche, etc.). Hitler nationalized their factories and confiscated their property. Many were arrested by the SS. “One night, you will find yourself running through the gardens of the ministry in your underwear to escape arrest.” Hugenberg. Most of Hitler’s supporters lost everything.
The role of political instability in the Nazi rise to power – The Holocaust Explained: https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-role-of-the-conservative-elite/
Spartacus League – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_League
The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler – The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/hitler-oligarchs-hugenberg-nazi/681584/
For example, Philip the Fair created the French nation, a people and a territory. He seized power by forcing the nobles and clergy to submit to his authority. He turned to Lombard merchants and Jews, granting them the right to trade in France in exchange for loans. Philip the Fair used this money to become the first leader of the French nation. With this money, he bought off the nobles and clergy who could be bought. He used violence against the others. For example, his chancellor slapped the Pope. Once he had conquered all power, Philip the Fair decided not to repay the loans he had taken out and expelled the Lombards and Jews. They went from being wealthy merchants or bankers to exiles. He even burned the Lombards and Jews who refused to leave the country.
Philippe le Bel, ou l’argent à tout prix – La Tribune: https://www.latribune.fr/journal/edition-du-1907/la-tribune-de-l-ete/histoire/1008541/philippe-le-bel-ou-l-argent-a-tout-prix.html
Translated with DeepL
