Bernie Sanders showed up on Stephen Colbert's show Tuesday to complain about billionaires ruining America.
This is the same Bernie Sanders who spent $221,723 on private jets in the first three months of 2025 alone.
The millionaire socialist sat in a TV studio and lectured working Americans about wealth concentration while living exactly like the wealthy elite he claims to oppose.
Bernie Sanders' $221K Private Jet Spending On 'Fighting Oligarchy' Tour
Sanders has been flying around the country on his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour since February, and the bills tell you everything.
Three charter jet companies—Cirrus Aviation Services, N-Jet, and Ventura Jets—made a fortune hauling Bernie between rallies.
He dropped another $42,000 on luxury lodging and over $248,000 on event production.
His sidekick Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez flew first class to join him at several stops.
These two champions of the working class racked up bills that would make most families dizzy, then stood on stage preaching about the evils of wealth.
Sanders used to attack "millionaires and billionaires" in every speech.
Then he became a millionaire with three houses and conveniently dropped the millionaire part.
Now he just focuses on billionaires while ignoring his own massive book deals and speaking fees.
Millionaire Socialist Attacks Billionaires While Ignoring Democratic Donors
When Colbert asked Sanders to define the problem, he had his script ready.
Sanders claimed a small number of wealthy people control the economy, media, and political system, then went after Elon Musk for spending $270 million to help elect Trump.
But here's what Bernie conveniently forgot: Kamala Harris spent over $1 billion on her campaign and still lost.
If spending money equals corruption, then the Democrats are drowning in it.
Sanders briefly acknowledged that "Democratic billionaires" contribute to the system, then immediately moved past them.
He didn't name George Soros, who's funded radical district attorneys turning American cities into crime zones.
He didn't mention Mark Zuckerberg pouring $400 million into the 2020 election through his "Zuckerbucks" operation.
He didn't talk about the coordinated control of news, entertainment, and social media by leftist billionaires.
He attacked Larry Ellison for owning Paramount and CBS, as if one businessman buying a media company is worse than the decades of liberal control over Hollywood, network television, and Big Tech platforms.
The Billionaires Bernie Won't Name
When Sanders talks about concentrated power, he means successful businessmen who don't fund his radical agenda.
The wealthy elite he ignores are the ones bankrolling the destruction of America.
Tom Steyer spent over $200 million on his own failed presidential campaign in 2020, then kept spending millions more through his NextGen Climate operation pushing the green energy scam.
Before that, he dropped $87 million supporting Democrat candidates in the 2016 election cycle alone.
Michael Bloomberg poured over $500 million into his doomed 2020 presidential bid, then turned around and spent hundreds of millions more on gun control and environmental causes.
Bill Gates uses his foundation to push policies worldwide while his wealth grows bigger than ever.
These are the people with real power—the ones shaping policy, funding candidates, and controlling the narrative through their foundations and influence networks.
But Sanders won't call them out by name the way he attacks Musk or Ellison.
Those guys supported Trump, so they're fair game.
The Democrat billionaires funding Sanders' party get a vague mention about "some" wealthy donors on "both sides," then he moves on.
It's selective outrage designed to target Trump's allies while protecting his own funders.
Three Houses, Private Jets: Bernie Sanders' Champagne Socialist Lifestyle
The truly amazing part is Sanders saying all this while living a lifestyle most Americans will never touch.
His campaign finance reports show spending that would embarrass someone actually concerned about inequality.
Over $220,000 on private jets in three months means he was burning through roughly $2,500 per day just on flights.
That's more than many families make in a month, and Sanders spent it daily flying around telling people the system is rigged against them.
The working-class Americans who donated $27 to his campaigns thought that money would fight the establishment.
Instead, it bought luxury travel for an 83-year-old socialist who owns three homes and made millions from book deals.
Sanders complains about concentrated wealth while concentrating wealth in his own bank account.
He attacks corporate greed while maximizing his speaking fees and book royalties.
He demands everyone else pay their "fair share" while structuring his income to minimize taxes.
This isn't fighting concentrated power—this is joining the club while pretending you're still on the outside.
Stephen Colbert Silent As Bernie Sanders Calls Out CBS Oligarchy
The whole interview played out exactly like Sanders wanted—he got to attack Trump's billionaire supporters while his own billionaire supporters stayed safely in the shadows.
He got to pose as a champion of the people while spending campaign money like a Saudi prince.
And he did it all on national television, using the platform that made him rich to complain about people richer than him.
The working Americans watching at home see right through it.
They know Sanders flies private while they're stuck in economy.
They know he owns three houses while lecturing them about fairness.
They know he made millions selling socialism while they struggle to pay bills.
That's not fighting for the little guy.
That's being part of the problem while claiming you're the solution.
Sources:
- Marc Tamasco, "Bernie Sanders implies CBS is part of 'oligarchy' controlling US while on network's 'Late Show'," Fox News, January 21, 2026.
- Multiple Staff, "Bernie Sanders Hypocrisy on 'Fighting Oligarchy' Just Got Brutally Exposed," TFPP Wire, April 19, 2025.
- Kathryn Watson, "Bloomberg and Steyer spent more than three quarters of a billion dollars on the 2020 race. Voters didn't care," CNN Politics, March 4, 2020.
- Multiple Staff, "Tom Steyer," Wikipedia, accessed January 21, 2026.