# What Elon Musk reaching trillionaire status says about America

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/what-elon-musk-reaching-trillionaire-status-says-about-america
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/what-elon-musk-reaching-trillionaire-status-says-about-america.md
Podcast: [The Excerpt](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145)
Published: 2026-07-24T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/ea3d28a2-75e1-4429-a8f1-626246a61896.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
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Duration seconds: 948

## Resource

Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire is the kind of milestone that says something about making it in America. After all, this is a country that has long celebrated outsized success. But it's impossible to ignore that this moment arrives when many working Americans say simply affording a home feels out of reach. What happens when the promise of opportunity becomes less certain in a country built on the idea of opportunity? Susan Stokes, the distinguished service professor of political science at the University of Chicago and director of the Chicago Center on Democracy, joins USA TODAY’s The Excerpt for a look at what happens to faith in democratic institutions as unprecedented wealth becomes more concentrated.  Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com .  Episode transcript available here .  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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## Transcript

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