Billionaire rule has been grossly unjust and patently unsustainable for a long time, but now it is revealing a new level of political toxicity.

Elon Musk made world headlines on June 12 by becoming the first billionaire to become a trillionaire — based on the valuation of his share of Space X stock when it was floated.

Just days later, he was once again on the global stage using X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he owns, to whip up a racist pogrom against non-white people in Belfast. Homes were set on fire, people assaulted and armed and masked fascist thugs patrolled some streets for a couple of nights.

Thanks to a powerful 20,000-strong anti-racist mobilisation by Belfast United Against Racism, the right-wing thugs, cheered on by the world’s first trillionaire, were quickly isolated.

Musk and like-minded billionaire supporters of United States President Donald Trump cannot be dismissed as distant morbid symptoms of the US empire in decline, because the power of their obscene wealth means their toxic impact is global.

Australia has its own toxic billionaire — the notorious Gina Rinehart, the richest person in this country and the public bankroller of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party. Imitating Musk’s notorious 2025 stunt with a chainsaw, Rinehart gave Hanson a “big fat orange bulldozer” because, the benefactor explained, Hanson needs more than a big chainsaw to do what she needs to do!

The big fat orange........

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