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The Difference Between Billionaires And Oligarchs? A Star Reporter Weighs In.
“When Elon Musk gets federal subsidies to grow Tesla, does that make him an oligarch?”
When I got Teddy Schleifer on the line for this week’s Big Technology Podcast, I wanted to hear his perspective on the oligarchs. Schleifer covers billionaires for Puck, a unique beat he’s carved out — and owned — over the past few years. And now that countries around the globe are seizing oligarch assets, I wanted to hear A) If these sanctions will work, and B) Whether we’ll see any spillover to the billionaires that Schleifer watches so closely.
Regarding the sanctions’ effectiveness, well, don’t expect much. Putting pressure on the oligarchs, Schleifer said, is meant to squeeze a group that could press Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. But Putin has centralized power over the past 20 years. So even if the oligarchs went to him in protest, it’s doubtful they’d be effective. At this point, despite the headline-making yacht impoundments, their impact seems muted.
Things get more interesting when it comes to billionaires outside of Russia, who some are now labeling ‘oligarchs’ as well. During Major League Baseball’s lockout, for instance, Sen. Bernie Sanders labeled team owners “The baseball oligarchs” and said they were “far more concerned with…
