Aaron

@hosford42@techhub.social

“Apple’s at $4 trillion, and Musk’s compensation in his latest plan is geared to a $10 trillion valuation,” Sorrell told the audience. “I have no doubt that Musk or Tesla will get to that valuation. At some point, we’ll have a $10 trillion company. To put that into perspective, other than the United States and China, a $10 trillion company would effectively be the third-biggest [economy in the world]. They’re nation-states. The ability of governments to control them, I think, has become limited.”

fortune.com/2025/10/30/martin-

Fortune

Martin Sorrell says AI has already ‘missed the Oppenheimer moment’

When it comes to AI, it’s already too big for governments to regulate, says WPP founder Martin Sorrell.

November 5, 2025 at 6:01:53 PM

The fact that this is even possible tells us all we need to know about whether capitalism, as we currently practice it, is the economic model we should be adhering to.

Engines have been redesigned to make them better. Computers have been redesigned to make them better. Governments have been redesigned to make them better.

The pattern is the same for all technologies, except for one: our economic system.* It lies stagnant. We need to redesign the system. The current model might be better than many previous iterations, but that doesn't make it perfect. It is clearly __very broken__, and we are witnessing the effects as it destroys everything around us -- our government, culture, and personal lives -- with its instability. Even our recent political turmoil can be traced back to this as a major factor.

*(Yes, forms of government are technologies, as are economic systems. Thinking of them that way might feel unfamiliar, but this is exactly the deficiency I am pointing out.)

Our economic system should not even admit the possibility of a billionaire, much less a trillionaire.

We need to closely examine why wealth continues to accrue in the hands of the few who are already wealthy, and evaporate from the savings of the common people. This is blatant, I repeat BLATANT, evidence of rent-seeking behavior.

Rent-seeking is an economics term, for those who aren't familiar:

"Rent seeking is an economic practice where individuals or businesses aim to increase their wealth without contributing to society's overall value, often undermining market efficiency."

EDIT: Here's the source of that quote:
investopedia.com/terms/r/rents

Investopedia

What Is Rent Seeking in Economics, and What Are Some Examples?

Rent seeking is an economic concept that occurs when an entity seeks to gain added wealth without any reciprocal contribution of productivity.

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