Is Energy the Next Big Trade? + How to Actually Tax Billionaires

Scott Galloway argues that while energy is often overlooked in mainstream narratives, it's actually the defining economic story of the next decade—driven not by demand for electricity itself, but by the massive infrastructure build-out required to power AI. He reveals that the five largest tech companies spent more on capital expenditures in 2025 than the entire global oil and gas industry did on production, yet electricity bills are rising not because of AI consuming more power, but due to decades of deferred investment in transmission lines, transformers, and labor costs. He warns that China’s dominance over 80% of battery-grade graphite and rare earth elements poses a geopolitical threat, and criticizes U.S. policy for undermining clean energy growth by cutting IRA incentives early. Yet he remains optimistic: renewables are becoming cheaper and more efficient, and the real innovation may come not from scaling energy supply, but from technologies that drastically reduce AI’s power consumption. On taxation, Galloway pushes back against AOC’s confrontational rhetoric toward billionaires, arguing that demonizing the wealthy alienates moderates and undermines progressive policy. Instead, he advocates for a pragmatic, non-didactic approach—like a progressive alternative minimum tax on high earners and corporations, and a pied-à-terre tax on second homes over $5 million—framed as a rational economic strategy, not a moral crusade.