Google is constantly politically defeated by random old people in Mountain View with lots of free time. There is no amount of money you can spent to build an apartment building that might cast a shadow on their house one day a year.

Yes but in that situation Google must act transparently in an open political forum rather than backstab people behind closed doors.

That would be a surprise to the old people, who think anyone who disagrees with them is a developer shill.

Money is tradeable for power and vice versa.

The exchange rate depends on power and lack of ethics.

Power is the goal.