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Broligarchy is a neologism and portmanteau combining oligarchy and broism describing the rule of government by a coterie of extremely wealthy men (occupying leadership roles in the tech companies and tech-enabled businesses) who are perceived by the public as tech bros. [1] [2] [3] It is also known as tech oligarchy. [4] [5] [6]
According to Prospect magazine, "Broligarchy appears in surfer language in the early 2000s “when a small group of bros run a break”—referring to locals controlling a surf spot." [7] [8]
The modern use of the terms broligarch and broligarchy can be traced to a Twitter post in 2009. [1] [9] Broligarchy appeared on Urban Dictionary in 2011. [10] The terms gained wide adoption during the 2024 US presidential election and the second Trump presidency. [8]
The recent use of the terms appeared on X in March 2024 by Condé Nast editor Luke Zaleski [11] , who called Elon Musk "the world's first broligarch". [12] The term broligarch was used in the mainstream media in late July 2024 in a news article in The Observer by the British journalist Carole Cadwalladr. [13]
In early August 2024, the term broligarch appeared in the title of articles in the the Atlantic magazine by Brooke Harrington [14] and in the English edition of Al Majalla by Bryn Haworth. [15] The subsequent months saw a flurry of media usage following the 2024 US presidential election in November of the same year [2] [16] and the second inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2025. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
In the 2021 book The Tyranny of Big Tech, American politician and attorney Josh Hawley argued that major technology companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple have become tech oligarchs with overwhelming economic and political power. He describes these companies as modern-day robber barons who are draining prosperity and power from the middle class and creating a new oligarchy. [22]