Seth Meyers takes a critical look at the 158 families bankrolling the 2016 presidential race

Seth Meyers looks at the 158 families bankrolling the 2016 race

(Image credit: Late Night)

last updated 13 October 2015

Over the weekend, The New York Times ran an article on the "overwhelmingly white, rich, older, and male" millionaires and billionaires financing the 2016 presidential race — just 158 families have contributed $176 million in the first phase of the campaign, or half of all money donated. On Monday's Late Night, Seth Meyers took a closer look at what that means for the election and democracy.

One effect is that campaigns last a lot longer than they used to in the era before the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. These days, Meyers said, "candidates with little or no support can keep running because at any point, a super PAC could revive their campaign" — which, he added, explains Bobby Jindal's continued run. Another side effect, Meyers said, is that "candidates have to do increasingly ridiculous things to curry favor with the wealthy donors." The most pernicious effect, though, is that when the winning candidate takes office, he or she is indebted to a handful of very wealthy people, and that affects the laws that are passed. He ended with some examples and a quote from Charles Koch that, Meyers aid, sounds "like every Batman villain right before they get caught." Watch below. Peter Weber

YouTube

Watch On

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.