I'm a John Malone guy. I think he might be the American equivalent of a King. He is the countries largest land owner (2.2 million acres) and worth 6 billion and those stats have to be low estimates based on offshoring and corporate shells and opaque private equity schemes. And these are all the things he owns:
SiriusXM
iHeartRadio (Clear Channel)
LiveNation (Ticketmaster)
The Discovery Channel
The Atlanta Braves
Formula One Racing
He also owns the following cable companies:
Spectrum
Helicon
Enster
Falcon
And hundreds of smaller local carriers.
He was a former McKinsey (scum of the earth, they built mayor pete) and seems like Bain Capital is just sort of a personal holding company for him in practice. This guy owns every single level of the entertainment industry from the artists to the broadband lines we need to see em. Remember that kids show from the 90's, Hey Dude? It was one of his production companies just trying to make sure kids have positive associations with cattle ranchers like him.
I know most of us are obsessed with new age tech oligarchs but their value is all vulnerable to bubbles bursting. The people that own the physical infrastructure of our country are completely immune to market forces. Bezos can lose 80% of what he owns in a day, Malone cannot. Finance is like a mini game for people like Malone and Roberts but its the only thing 'tech billionaires' have. A real oligarch has to own something permanent and immutable. I think starting with the countries largest land owners is a great place to start for Americans greatest villains.
Fuck John Malone. But who's ya'll faves? Lotta options:
Charles Koch (duh)
Brian L Roberts (Comcast, NBCUniversal)
Stan Kroenke (3rd Largest Land owner, owns the Rams)
James C. Kennedy (Cox Media)
These are the only players in US politics. Legislation and politicians are just pop culture. They're just an expression of the will of these asshats and politics only makes sense when viewed through the lens of their personal benefit.
Can we get a /c/BestOf already?