Two years ago, we devoted an entire issue to the rise of the American oligarchy. Since then, our oligarchic system has become more entrenched and pervasive, revolving around a small crew of tech titans whose quest for wealth and power—in all of its forms—is destabilizing our democracy and reshaping our society. In the May + June 2026 issue, we investigate our new AI overlords and the world they are striving to create, whether we like it or not. Read the rest of the package here.
The AI bubble has been a boon to the portfolios and prospects of the tech world’s biggest players. Their companies are vying for hegemony and their net worths are trending toward Mount Olympus. “It almost feels like you guys are the new Formula 1 drivers,” Theo Von told Sam Altman last year. But the race for market dominance has been anything but smooth. Beyond the hype, you can find a litany of false promises, questionable investments, and just plain decadence, complicating both their predictions for the future and claims to come in peace. Here are the numbers you won’t find in the quarterly earnings report.
ELON MUSK
10
Years since Musk said he would send a rocket to Mars within two years
20,237
Cybertrucks sold in the US in 2025, about 230,000 fewer than Musk predicted would sell each year
518,428
Preventable child deaths in the year since Musk dismantled USAID, saying, “Time for it to die”
679,584
Antisemitic posts on X over a one-year period between 2024 and 2025
1.8 million
Sexually explicit images of women generated by X’s AI agent Grok during a nine-day period last winter
SAM ALTMAN
100,000
Jobs Donald Trump claimed would be created by OpenAI’s Stargate data centers “almost immediately”
100
Employees needed to operate Stargate’s Abilene, Texas, campus once construction is completed
630,000
Weekly ChatGPT users that OpenAI said showed signs of psychosis or mania
$1.4 trillion
Amount OpenAI said it plans to invest in AI infrastructure over the next eight years
$20 billion
The company’s reported revenues in 2025
JEFF BEZOS
$75 million
Amount Amazon spent to acquire and promote Melania
$75 million
Cost of the 246-foot yacht Bezos bought to follow his 417-foot yacht
$100 million
2025 loss by the Washington Post, which this year cut 40-plus percent of its staff
48
Years until Amazon pays sales taxes on its New Carlisle, Indiana, data center
$4 billion
Amazon’s potential tax savings during that period
MARK ZUCKERBERG
$77 billion
Amount lost by Meta on the “Metaverse” before declaring AI the next big thing
$250 million
What Meta offered to hire one AI researcher last year
10%
Portion of Meta’s 2024 revenue the company estimated came from ads for scams
$6.4 million
Amount Meta spent on TV ads to convince Americans data centers are good
4,500
Square footage of Zuckerberg’s underground bunker in Hawaii
All illustrations by Yann Legendre.
Read more of our coverage of the roots and rise of the American oligarchy.
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