The U.S. has always idolized charismatic grifters. Tech revolutionized charisma, by showing that interpersonal charisma isn’t the correct filter: asociability, or perhaps the more familiar amorality, is. The ability of someone to extract and upstream value without engaging in ethics is correctly labeled as more important than being warm and friendly.

The words for this is "regulatory capture" and "deregulation". And yes, its been happening for a long time.

And now that right-wing groups are buying up all the media, we wont be hearing about it for much longer.