Post #4370292
2026-07-30 07:36 UTC
Why are rich and successful business people in Russia called "oligarchs", but anywhere in the West they are simply "billionaires"?
Replies (1)
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@photovince@mastodon.social 2026-07-30 08:26
@yayaver@mastodon.social Not sure I agree with your phrasing. Oligarchs are not just “rich and succesful business people”, there are at least two other characteristics: being in a close circle with political power, and buying public or semi-public property on the cheap (after collapse of the USSR) Would some or all of that apply to western billionaires, sure. But neither group should be let off the hook for profiteering off the public sector, grabbing commons and externalising cost to the environment