Is America’s political system really controlled by a wealthy elite?

For years, anti-capitalists have been highlighting what they see as the ever-increasing influence of a small financial elite over American politics. But if money alone did buy political power, Donald Trump would not have become the Republican presidential nominee in 2016.

He would probably have lost out to Jeb Bush, who raised far more in donations than Trump or any of the other potential candidates. And certainly, Trump would have lost the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton, who, together with her allies, joint committees with the Democratic Party and the super PACs that supported her, raised more than $1.2 billion for the full cycle. In contrast, Trump and his allies raised about $600 million.