When Elon Musk’s SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq on Friday, he became the first trillionaire in history. Later that night on HBO’s Real Time, host Bill Maher wondered if you could still be a good capitalist and believe in “some cap on wealth.” Eurasian Group President Ian Bremmer responded not by answering the question but by suggesting that Musk’s history-making day was a result of his donation to President Trump’s 2024 campaign. Maher wondered, “Is it going to be, like, five people who have all the money in the world, and can you be a good capitalist? Here's my question: Can you be a good capitalist, because I think I am, or a believer in capitalism and still think there should be some cap on wealth?”   After Bill Maher asks about Elon Musk becoming the first trillionaire, "Can you be a good capitalist, because I think I am, or a believer in capitalism and still think there should be some cap on wealth?" Eurasian Group President Ian Bremmer claims "a whole bunch of Americans… pic.twitter.com/YEOj4uZeAP — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) June 13, 2026   Bremmer began his response by waxing poetic but not answering the question, “Well, you have to—Americans believe that people should be able to make it, they should be successful. It's one of the things that really makes our country work. We don't think necessarily that someone who's worth 100 million, even a billion, maybe even a trillion is necessarily a bad thing where in many other countries they do, but there has to be opportunity for the average American and their kids to get there.” Turning more negative, Bremmer recalled, “We saw Graham Platner came out immediately today, ‘There should never be another trillionaire.’ You know, you see Elizabeth Warren, you’ll see Rob Reich, ‘Every billionaire is a policy failure.’ That reflects the fact a whole bunch of Americans feel like they don't trust their leaders. They don't trust these elites.” Making matters worse is “That Elon, the first trillionaire, also happens to be the person who gave the most money to the Trump administration, $250 million. They don't feel like that's a coincidence, and they don’t have that kind of access no matter how smart they are, no matter how hard they work. For me it's not about the money. For me it's about the lack of mobility, the lack of opportunity. The fact that we don’t believe in the American dream.” Noticing that Bremmer didn’t actually answer the question, Maher tried again. Eventually, Bremmer claimed he personally didn’t have a problem with trillionaires, but it is important for leaders to be aware of the wealth gap. It is also important for those who are able to appear on national TV shows to give the audience the truth. If people believe that Musk is a trillionaire because of Trump, they are operating on the assumption that history began in 2024. Not only does Bremmer’s claim ignore that Musk became a trillionaire because of the decision to take SpaceX public, but he also ignores that SpaceX’s first government contract was awarded in 2008. It was President Obama who gave Tesla a $465 million loan. Similarly, it was President Biden—and Elizabeth Warren—who gave EV customers a tax break that Trump eventually repealed. If Bremmer wants to talk about Musk’s business relationship with the government, he should talk about all of it. Here is a transcript for the June 12 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher 6/12/2026 10:21 PM ET BILL MAHER: Is it going to be, like, five people who have all the money in the world, and can you be a good capitalist? Here's my question: Can you be a good capitalist, because I think I am, or a believer in capitalism and still think there should be some cap on wealth? IAN BREMMER: Well, you have to—Americans believe that people should be able to make it, they should be successful. It's one of the things that really makes our country work. We don't think necessarily that someone who's worth 100 million, even a billion, maybe even a trillion is necessarily a bad thing where in many other countries they do, but there has to be opportunity for the average American and their kids to get there. And the fact— we saw Graham Platner came out immediately today, “There should never be another trillionaire.” You know, you see Elizabeth Warren, you’ll see Rob Reich, “Every billionaire is a policy failure.” That reflects the fact a whole bunch of Americans feel like they don't trust their leaders. They don't trust these elites. That Elon, the first trillionaire, also happens to be the person who gave the most money to the Trump administration, $250 million. They don't feel like that's a coincidence, and they don’t have that kind of access no matter how smart they are, no matter how hard they work. For me it's not about the money. For me it's about the lack of mobility, the lack of opportunity. The fact that we don’t believe in the American dream.