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The world's richest person holds the social media platform X.

The relatives of the number two billionaire tycoon manages the Paramount media empire, which then owns CBS, and might eventually take over Warner Bros, which owns the CNN news channel.

The number three billionaire mogul owns Facebook, the Instagram app and the WhatsApp messaging service.

The fourth wealthiest person holds the Washington Post and the Amazon MGM film studio.

A different tycoon owns the Fox News channel, that financial newspaper and the New York Post.

What is the motive are billionaires buying up a significant portion of the news media? Vanity could be a factor, but there's a more pragmatic – certainly a sinister – explanation.

If you possess vast wealth, you may see the democratic process as a potential threat to your wealth accumulation. Control over a sizable portion of the shrinking number of journalistic platforms would allow you to strategically protect against democracy by curbing negative coverage of you and wealthy elites, and discouraging any move to – for example – tax away your assets.

The Influence of Trump

You must also contend with the former president. Upon his re-election, Trump has brazenly and illegally wielded the power of the presidency to target his opponents and benefit those who shower him with admiration and financial gain.

So it likely wasn't unexpected that the editorial board of the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper defended the destruction of the presidential residence area to construct Trump his grand hall – without disclosing that Bezos-controlled Amazon is a significant financial backer to the project's financing. Its editors also applauded the military's decision to obtain a latest iteration of miniature atomic plants, but neglected to disclose Amazon's stake in X-energy, a enterprise that's developing compact atomic reactors. And it condemned the district's rejection of self-driving cars without disclosing that its autonomous vehicle division was seeking access to the Washington DC market.

These breaches are unforgivable.

The Ellison Connection

It's much the same with the relatives of Larry Ellison, founder of the enterprise software giant Oracle and the world's second wealthiest individual. Ellison is a consistent financial backer for Trump who as court documents show, took part in a phone call to consider how his 2020 election defeat could be disputed.

In mid-2025, the billionaire and his company were financial backers of Trump's military parade in DC. During that period, father and son were expecting the government agency to approve their eight billion dollar deal with Paramount, owner of the broadcast network.

In the lead-up to the sale, some senior executives at CBS News and its flagship investigative show stepped down, citing concerns over the outlet's capability to maintain its editorial independence, and revealing coercion by the parent company to tamp down reports opposing Trump. No matter. Too much money were on the line.

Results and Concessions

In July, Paramount paid sixteen million dollars to end Trump's frivolous lawsuit against the network and terminated Colbert's show, which pleased Trump greatly. Three weeks after the settlement was announced, Trump loyalist the commission's head, chair of the regulatory agency, approved the Ellisons' deal, making David chief executive of the new media giant Paramount Skydance and granting him authority of the broadcast network.

In autumn, David appointed the right-leaning opinion journalist Bari Weiss the CBS News editor-in-chief, even though she was inexperienced in either media or news reporting. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the news division heavily edited the former president's most recent news segment, removing his boast that the broadcaster "paid me a lotta money".

The Decline of Editorial Freedom

Historians note when the broadcaster maintained its integrity to a demagogic president. But that was when the news division – known for Murrow and Cronkite – was separate from the corporate parent, and when the executives of CBS had independent responsibilities to the citizens.

It is difficult to ascertain the complete scope to which opposition reporting and his administration has been suppressed by the billionaire proprietors, or what positive stories has been elicited.

Commercial Interests

But what we are aware of is that billionaire media owners like Elon Musk, Bezos, Ellison and Rupert Murdoch are capitalists above all. Their primary objective is not journalism but to maximize revenue. They are aware the former president can disrupt their businesses by enacting restrictive policies, applying employment regulations targeting them or blocking them from lucrative government contracts.

And in an period when riches is held in the possession of a handful of people who have purchased major news outlets, with a sensitive chief executive who is willing and able to violate laws and norms to punish or reward, there is a growing danger that the public will not be obtaining the truth it needs to function in this democracy.

Steps Forward

What to do about this?

At the least, journalistic entities should notify the public about all possible biases, and journalistic monitors and professional associations should hold them accountable.

Another proposal (if and when) the leadership changes) is that regulatory bodies reject the acquisition of a prominent news organization by someone with diverse commercial interests that could create biased reporting.

Purchase of a media company should be regulated separately than the takeover of, for instance, a firm developing autonomous vehicles or {one|