Twenty years in the past, I realized an necessary lesson: should you can’t beat them, be part of them. And should you can’t discover a job with the monopolies, then you definitely would possibly as effectively spend money on them!
Take what occurred on September 1, 2025. I obtained an e-mail from Apple saying my Apple TV+ month-to-month subscription was going up from $9.99 to $12.99. My first response was annoyance. Who desires to pay an additional $3 a month for a similar exhibits? All the things must be free, like my weekly newsletter serving to readers obtain monetary freedom sooner!
However as a shareholder, I used to be pumped. A 30% worth hike is very large for profitability given Apple’s hundreds of thousands of subscribers. I am not going to unsubscribe as a consequence of an additional $3 a month. Then there’s the value hikes of its newest laptops and telephones. That is the kind of pricing energy you solely get while you’ve constructed a monopoly-like ecosystem.
The one logical factor I may consider after that e-mail? Purchase extra Apple inventory.
For reference, a monopoly is a market construction the place a single firm or entity dominates the availability of a selected services or products, giving it vital energy to set costs, management distribution, and restrict competitors. As a result of limitations to entry are excessive—comparable to patents, unique sources, authorities regulation, or sheer economies of scale—the monopolist can preserve outsized earnings and pricing flexibility over time.
Money Hoards And Massive Ecosystems
Historically, Apple’s inventory sells off after its annual occasion the place it unveils new merchandise. The hype by no means fairly matches Wall Road’s lofty expectations, and 2025’s showcase was no totally different. However Apple doesn’t have to innovate in the way in which we predict, by launching world-changing devices yearly. Simply repositioning the digicam lens 1 millimeter is sweet sufficient!
The true “innovation” is Apple’s skill to lock in prospects and cost a toll. The App Retailer’s 30% fee is the proper instance. In the event you’re a developer and also you need your app to succeed, you haven’t any alternative however to be inside Apple’s ecosystem. And Apple is aware of this. The iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, Watch—all of those {hardware} merchandise feed into one sticky universe of recurring income. When you’re in, you don’t go away.
That’s why Apple is barely going to proceed dominating. As an investor, betting in opposition to Apple is betting in opposition to super-normal earnings.
Google’s Monopoly Appears Good Too
Then there’s Google, one other monopoly-like juggernaut. Google pays Apple $20+ billion a yr simply to be the default search engine in Safari. Think about that. How can another search engine compete when Google buys the pole place on the world’s most dear and common gadgets?
Google nonetheless instructions roughly 90% of the worldwide search market, and that dominance stays unshaken regardless of the rise of AI LLMs. To my dismay, Google now lifts writer content material and shows it in its AI Overviews, making it even tougher for publishers to seize invaluable search site visitors.
In September 2025, Google was spared the worst attainable judgment in its landmark antitrust case. Decide Amit Mehta dominated that whereas Google can not enter into unique agreements with firms, it’s nonetheless allowed to pay companions like Apple to distribute its companies. Translation: Google can hold sending tens of billions to Apple, and Apple can hold cashing the checks.
That may be a win-win for each firms—and their shareholders. It’d even be a win for Decide Mehta and his prolonged household, wink wink. If that’s the case, Decide Mehta must practice Stealth Wealth as a substitute of all of a sudden driving round in a Lambo and throwing events in a brand new mansion.
How Many Companies Can Compete at This Stage?
Solely a tiny handful of corporations on the earth have the monetary firepower to play at this degree.
The one firm that might theoretically compete is Microsoft, with Bing, which no one cares about. If Microsoft ever decides to go bananas and bid in opposition to Google, we’d see Apple’s annual payout rise into the $30–$40 billion vary. That’s greater than the annual GDP of some small nations.
From an investor’s standpoint, you root for these bidding wars. So long as Apple stays the gatekeeper of the world’s most coveted person base, it’s going to receives a commission.
And as historical past has proven, regulators and courts hardly ever break aside such entrenched dominance. When you have got sufficient scale, cash, and affect, you possibly can bend politics and coverage in your favor.
Strategically, Google ought to spend extra on politicians, as a substitute of the $20 – $30 million a yr on lobbying, to guard its monopoly and achieve even additional floor.
The Winners Preserve On Successful
This dynamic isn’t restricted to firms. It’s the identical in private finance.
Take into consideration the rich particular person in 2010 who had $10 million in investable belongings. If that particular person merely plowed all of it into the S&P 500 and reinvested dividends, they’d have round $57 million right now, assuming the S&P 500 closes up 10% in 2025. They’ve grow to be a semi-human monopoly—capable of purchase affect, present multi-generational wealth, and safe benefits most individuals can solely dream of.
Now distinction that with somebody who purchased an excessive amount of dwelling in 2006, obtained foreclosed on in 2010, and declared chapter. As an alternative of compounding hundreds of thousands, they ended up with unfavorable web value and a credit standing in tatters for seven years. They’re just like the small competitor attempting to claw market share from Apple or Google. The hole solely widens with time. The primary technique is to someday promote to Apple or Google, not compete with it.
Similar to firms, people who have already got the sources are inclined to hold pulling additional forward. The snowball impact is actual.
Human Monopolies and Duopolies
For this reason I imagine buyers ought to focus extra of their consideration on monopoly-like and oligopoly-like firms. If the federal government isn’t going to cease them—and historical past suggests it hardly ever does—you would possibly as effectively profit.
OpenAI and Anthropic, for instance, are the 2 rising giants in AI giant language fashions. Whereas each are personal for now, their oligopoly construction is already forming, together with Llama and Gemini.
In client merchandise, Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominate international tender drinks in a traditional duopoly. In the event you imagine the world will hold guzzling sugary drinks regardless of the well being dangers, these shares make sense.
In funds, Visa and Mastercard kind one other entrenched oligopoly. In the event you suppose customers will hold spending past their means and paying double-digit rates of interest on revolving credit score, proudly owning these firms is a rational alternative.
The sample is obvious: these entrenched gamers are allowed to develop greater and extra worthwhile whereas regulators look the opposite manner. Politicians typically personal shares within the very monopolies they’re supposed to manage.
So why shouldn’t you?
Adapt or Perish
In fact, disruption is all the time attainable. OpenAI and Anthropic have already taken bites out of Google’s search enterprise as extra individuals depend on AI-generated solutions. That is one more reason why I’ve determined to invest in both OpenAI and Anthropic as a hedge.
However disruption doesn’t get rid of the monopoly dynamic—it simply shifts it. Right this moment’s upstart is tomorrow’s entrenched winner. For now, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Visa, and Mastercard are nonetheless firmly in management.
Corporations adapt. Traders should as effectively. The choice is irrelevance.
My Investing Philosophy Going Ahead
For the typical particular person, investing in a low-cost S&P 500 ETF stays the only and only wealth-building technique. However should you’re studying Monetary Samurai, you probably care about cash greater than most. In consequence, you’re prepared to suppose strategically about tips on how to tilt the percentages in your favor.
That’s why I like constructing concentrated publicity to pick out monopolies and oligopolies inside your portfolio. These are the businesses that may probably generate essentially the most constant earnings, wield essentially the most pricing energy, and ship the strongest returns over time. When these firms inevitably appropriate, I’ll buy the dip.
Sure, complain about injustice if you would like. Sure, fear about inequality. However on the finish of the day, if it’s authorized and worthwhile, the rational investor joins the profitable facet. As a result of should you can’t beat them, you would possibly as effectively spend money on them.
That’s not cynicism. That’s survival.
Readers, are you investing in monopolies and oligopolies as a part of your technique? Or perhaps backing startups that might someday get acquired by them? I’d love to listen to your perspective—why do you suppose the federal government and courts aren’t extra proactive in breaking apart these giants for the sake of customers?
Disclaimer: This isn’t funding recommendation. I’m merely sharing what I’m doing with my very own cash. Please do your personal analysis, make investments solely in what you perceive, and by no means threat greater than you possibly can afford to lose. All investments carry threat, and your selections are yours alone.
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