Recent research from Northwestern University tells us something surprising about the world’s richest folks: more than one in ten billionaires have dipped their toes into politics.
The researchers pored over the records of over 2,000 people listed on Forbes’ Billionaires List. What they found was that billionaires tend to aim for important political positions, they’re pretty good at winning elections, and they usually lean to the right in their political views.
Striving for the top
“While billionaires informally wield influence ‘behind the scenes’ via campaign contributions, media manipulation and social ties with politicians, it’s striking how many billionaires themselves seek and hold formal political offices,” the researchers explain.
The researchers uncovered significant differences on a global scale: the likelihood of billionaires engaging in politics isn’t just about the total number of billionaires in a country; it’s linked to the type of government a country has. In all autocratic nations, about 29% of billionaires have political ties, while in democracies, it’s around 5%.
In certain countries where wealth is concentrated, billionaires are less likely to enter the political arena directly. Take the United States, for example, where only 3.7% of billionaires get involved in politics, well below the global average of 11%.
Global differences
On the flip side, billionaires in authoritarian post-communist Russia and single-party China are much more inclined to become politicians. Notably, in China, a whopping 36% of billionaires enter politics, which is nearly 25% higher than the global average.
The research also highlighted that billionaire political involvement is notably high in Russia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Surprisingly, none of Japan’s 33 billionaires or Australia’s 32 billionaires on the Forbes list were found to have pursued political roles.
The researchers suggested two key reasons for the higher rate of billionaires’ involvement in politics in autocratic regimes compared to democracies. First, there are stronger incentives to protect their wealth through political connections in autocracies. Second, democracies offer various “stealth” ways for billionaires to exert informal political influence.
“Even compared to other elite groups known for producing politicians from their ranks, 11% of billionaires holding or seeking political office is a high rate of political participation—and billionaires also tend to play sustained and significant roles in their countries’ political systems more broadly,” the researchers explain.
National roles
The researchers’ data also unveiled that billionaires are more inclined to aim for political roles at the national level rather than the regional level. A significant majority (75%) of the positions that billionaires have either held or vied for are at the national level. Their immense wealth often allows them to bypass the usual starting point of regional politics.
It’s important to note that billionaire involvement in politics isn’t always about exerting control over policies. In autocratic systems, for instance, billionaires entering politics may be signaling their loyalty to the ruling regime. These super-wealthy individuals might seek political office, typically as allies of the autocrat, to show their allegiance and reduce the risk of having their wealth seized.
“If we are ever truly to understand who governs, we must continue to examine billionaires’ involvement in politics,” the researchers conclude.
