Joe Biden warns of 'oligarchy taking shape in America' in his final speech as US president

United States President Joe Biden warned in his farewell address on Wednesday that an American oligarchy is taking shape among a few tech billionaires who have amassed a "dangerous concentration of power".

"An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead," Biden said from the Oval Office.

He did not mention names, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has amassed not just vast wealth but

, the Republican who will take over as president from Biden on Monday.

Musk, as well as Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — the chief executives of Amazon and Meta, respectively — will feature prominently at Trump's swearing-in, sitting with the Republican's cabinet nominees and elected officials.

The owner of the social media site X,

the November election, federal filings show, while other social media companies have donated heavily to Trump's inauguration.

Biden said he was "concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex".

"It could pose real dangers for our country as well. Americans are being buried under an avalanche of

, enabling the abuse of power," he said.

"The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking."

Biden also warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) and the need to ensure control over what he called "the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time".

"We must make sure AI is safe, trustworthy and good for all humankind. In the age of AI, it's more important than ever that the people must govern and, as the land of liberty, America, not China, must lead the world in the development of AI," he said.

Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram,

and reduced curbs on discussions around contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity.