Biden warns of dangers of 'oligarchy' of ultra-rich, 'tech-industrial complex' running country

President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House as he gives his farewell address Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used his farewell address to the nation Wednesday to warn of an “oligarchy” of the ultra-wealthy taking root in the country and of a “tech-industrial complex” that is infringing on Americans' rights and the future of democracy.

Speaking from the Oval Office as he prepares to hand over power Monday to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden sounded alarm over the accumulation of power and wealth among a small few.

“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said, drawing attention to ”a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy people. Dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.”

Invoking President Dwight Eisenhower’s warnings about the military-industrial complex when he left office, he added, “I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country as well.”

Biden sounded the alarm as some of the world’s richest individuals and titans of its technology industry have flocked to Trump’s side in recent months, particularly after his November victory. Billionaire Elon Musk spent more than $100 million on helping Trump get elected, and executives like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have donated to Trump’s inaugural committee and made pilgrimages to Trump’s private club in Florida for an audience with the president-elect.

Biden also called for a constitutional amendment to end immunity for sitting presidents, after the Supreme Court granted Trump sweeping protections last year from criminal liability over his role in trying to undermine his 2020 defeat to Biden.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a farewell address to the nation Wednesday night, seizing what may be his final opportunity to reshape Americans' grim views on his term before he departs the White House.

His speech in the Oval Office is the latest in a series of remarks on domestic policy and foreign relations that are intended to cement his legacy. Earlier in the day, he heralded a long awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which could end more than a year of bloodshed in the Middle East.

“It will take time to feel the impact of all we’ve done together, but the seeds are planted and they’ll grow and they’ll bloom for decades to come,” Biden said.

But Biden isn’t leaving the White House in the way that he hoped. He originally tried to run for reelection, brushing aside voters' concerns that he would be 86 years old at the end of a second term. After stumbling in a debate with Republican Donald Trump, Biden dropped out of the race under pressure from his own party.

He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in November. Now Biden is preparing to cede power to someone he’s described as an existential threat to the country’s democratic institutions.

He implicitly acknowledged that his promises remained unfulfilled in an open letter released Wednesday morning.

“I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake,” Biden wrote. “The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case.”

The rest of the letter emphasized his accomplishments, including guiding the country out of the coronavirus pandemic, supporting domestic manufacturing and limiting the cost of prescription drugs.

The speech Wednesday night will cap not only Biden’s presidency but his five decades in politics. He was once the country’s youngest senator at 30 years old after being elected to represent his home state of Delaware in 1972.

Biden pursued the presidency in 1988 and 2008 before becoming Barack Obama’s vice president. After serving two terms, Biden was considered to be retired from politics. But he returned to center stage as the unlikely Democratic nominee in 2020, successfully ousting Trump from the White House.

“Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States,” Biden wrote in his letter. “I have given my heart and my soul to our nation. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people.”