Europe is facing deep political turmoil as far-right movements surge to levels unseen since before World War II, fueled by billionaire donations and amplified on social media.
In France, billionaires Vincent Bolloré and Pierre-Édouard Stérin donated millions to Marine Le Pen, who is described as antisemitic, and to far-right projects. In Germany, AfD gained significant state funds, as public financing grows with a party’s popularity.
Elon Musk also poured large sums into the German far-right, while donating to Giorgia Meloni in Italy and Nigel Farage in Britain and amplifying their messages through X/Twitter.
Right-wing populism has also long benefited from Russian oligarchs, part of Vladimir Putin’s broader influence strategy in the West. It feeds on genuine “economic anxiety” born of capitalist crises and deepening inequality.
Immigration, corruption, and distrust
Large-scale Muslim immigration from war zones such as Syria and Afghanistan sparked a strong backlash that far-right groups exploited. Corruption in state institutions and mainstream political parties further eroded public faith - both in those institutions and in democracy itself.
These populist movements, often marked by fascist and racist traits, now enjoy support from some of the world’s most powerful billionaires. It’s not without precedent.
The Nazi party, for example, was financed by wealthy industrialists who profited from confiscating Jewish property, crushing trade unions, and later from forced labor. Friedrich Flick (Daimler-Benz), the Quandt family (BMW), August von Finck (Allianz), the Oetker family (Dr. Oetker food empire), Ferdinand Porsche (Volkswagen and Porsche), and the Opel family all bankrolled the Nazis.
For them, fascism was a last-resort solution once democracy no longer guaranteed their control. Until the war, it was highly profitable: they seized Jewish assets and were paid handsomely to build the Nazi army.
At the same time, socialist and far-left parties are also growing stronger. In Denmark, the Red-Green Alliance has taken Copenhagen and is gaining popularity among young voters. Spain is governed by socialists, while Podemos and other far-left groups are on the rise. Germany’s Die Linke is gaining strength, as are parties in Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovenia.
Like the far-right, the far-left is fueled by popular frustration with the economy, inequality, the climate crisis, and disillusionment with neoliberal policies that mainly enriched billionaires. For both sides, the message is the same: “the system” isn’t working.
Even in the United States, where “socialism” has long been a dirty word, support is growing. A Gallup poll published last week found only 42% of Democrats now view capitalism positively, compared with 66% who favor socialism. It is the first time a mainstream party’s base has shown more support for socialism than for capitalism.
Among Democrats under 50, only 31% view capitalism positively, down from 54% in 2010. On the Republican side, 74% still support capitalism, unsurprising for US President Donald Trump’s party, which Elon Musk has backed with hundreds of millions of dollars.
The campaign against “socialism,” in reality, fair public investment through taxation, has made many Americans fear their federal government. However, at the same time, more Americans are starting to view capitalism as broken and corrupt, draining consumers’ money and turning politicians into representatives of donors rather than the public.
Capitalism itself is not designed to function in that manner. At its core, it is a system where most means of production are privately owned and run. The world’s most advanced nations - Japan, Sweden, New Zealand - are capitalist, but also social-democratic. They channel the wealth created by capitalism into the public good.
Every country needs both: a productive side that generates wealth and a social side that protects its citizens and ensures fairness. If that balance is called socialism, so be it. But in practice, it is healthy capitalism and functional democracy. Those, however, are increasingly scarce around the world - and their absence is driving today’s social unrest and political instability.