SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci took to X on Sunday with a stark warning: the U.S. is drifting toward oligarchy, and greed is winning.
"Greed in a society always overcomes wisdom," he wrote. "When you get an oligarchic structure they create wealth for themselves, and leave everybody else behind."
Scaramucci, a former White House communications director, framed the problem as a breakdown of the system designed by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. "The genius of the Madisonian, Jeffersonian design was decentralization," he said. That system was meant to protect individual liberty and give everyone a shot at participating in capitalism. But when institutional balance breaks down, he added, "it needs a reset."
Don't mistake him for an anti-capitalist. Scaramucci made clear he supports capitalism and "unequal outcomes" — entrepreneurs should benefit from their success. But he argued that society still needs a baseline of opportunity. "Every person should get a basic package to get them to the starting block," he said.
Scaramucci's comments come amid a flood of data showing just how lopsided the wealth picture has become. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently highlighted that the world's roughly 3,000 billionaires added about $2.5 trillion in wealth over the past year, bringing their total to $18.3 trillion. He also pointed out that "the 12 richest people own more wealth than the bottom half of humanity."
The Kobeissi Letter shared data showing that U.S. wealth gains since 1976 have been wildly uneven. The top 0.001% saw a 3,500% increase, while the average household managed just 200%. Lower-income families, meanwhile, continue to struggle with debt and limited asset growth.
An Oxfam report added more context: the top 0.1% control nearly a quarter of U.S. stock market wealth, while the bottom half holds about 1%. Over 40% of Americans are low-income or poor, with persistent disparities across race, gender, and class.
Scaramucci's warning isn't just philosophical — it's a reflection of real economic trends that have been accelerating for decades. Whether the "reset" he calls for will come through policy, politics, or something else remains to be seen.
