Individuals who have resources on this scale change the dynamics of the societies in which they live, as the US increasingly dramatises. Their spending pulls economies out of kilter so that too much production is directed towards opulent, useless baubles, but, more dangerously, it spills over into buying political influence - directly in the political process and indirectly via media ownership. Unconstrained, the impact can only grow in the decades ahead, a phenomenon of which the dynastic founders are well aware, even if the wider public is not.
A dynastic courtroom drama to unfold next month in Reno, Nevada - hitherto secret but exposed by the New York Times last week - will further shine light on the new realities. Rupert Murdoch, the 31st richest billionaire in the US, and controller of a vast media empire that ranges from Fox News in the US, the Times and the Sun in Britain, to the Australian, is petitioning to change the terms of an irrevocable trust. It currently determines that after his death his four eldest children will have equal voting rights in the strategic and editorial control of his empire. The court hearing is his effort to change the trust and instead confer control on the child he considers most reliably rightwing, his son Lachlan.
Denne historien er fra August 02, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra August 02, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
Well, that's that then. In the event there were only two notes of jeopardy around Fifa's extraordinary virtual congress last week to announce the winning mono-bids, the vote without a vote, for the right to host the 2030 and 2034 football World Cups.
AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible
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With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope
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TV
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Albums
Murky love stories, nostalgic pop and an in-your-face masterpiece captured our critics' ears in 2024
Film
Visual language, sound, light and rhythm are to the fore in the best movies of the year
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From an exuberant mountaineer to a woman defiantly facing the guns of war, here are some of the brave individuals who gave us hope in a tumultuous 2024
Votes of confidence
From India to Venezuela and Senegal to the US, more people voted this year than ever before, with over 80 elections across the world. With rising authoritarianism and citizen-led resistance revealing its vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, has democracy reached its breaking or turning point?
