Americans understood this fully well 100 years ago. That's why we nowadays still have laws against monopolies (antitrust). The antitrust laws were created not just for an abstract reason, they were meant to curtail the power of the Robber Barons of the time, who managed to create powerful companies and control large parts of the country's economy and politics. Due to propaganda spread by the same kind of people, we are now almost in a similar situation, with a small group holding almost unmitigated power over the country. At this point billionaires are only disputing among themselves for the direction of the country, they really don't care the least for what you and me think.