Bernie Sanders implies CBS is part of 'oligarchy' controlling US while on network’s ‘Late Show’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., implied that CBS was part of an "oligarchy" of powerful companies controlling the U.S. economy and media while appearing on one of the network's flagship broadcasts.

During a Tuesday appearance on CBS' "The Late Show," host Stephen Colbert asked Sanders to define oligarchy.

"An oligarchy is a nation where a small number of incredibly wealthy people control the economy, control media," Sanders explained. "We have some experience with that right here on CBS."

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After taking the swipe at CBS, the senator went on to explain how, as of today, "we have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had in the history of America."

"You’ve got the top 1% owning more wealth than the bottom 93%," Sanders said. "One man, Mr. Musk, one man, owning more wealth than the bottom 52% of American households. All right? And then you have a political system, all right? These guys not only want to control the economy, they want to control the political system."

"So you have a corrupt political system as the result of this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, so that billionaires like Mr. Musk can spend $270 million to elect Trump," he continued. 

Sanders also called out "Democratic billionaires" for contributing to the pay-to-play system of American politics before diving back into the issue of media ownership.

"So you add ownership of media, which is becoming more and more concentrated — right-wing people buying media, owning social media," he lamented, calling out X CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg by name.

"Ellison now owns Paramount and CBS," Sanders continued. "You add all those things up, what you add end up with a really small number of people with incredible wealth and incredible power. Stephen, that is what oligarchy is about."

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Colbert offered no defense of his network, and instead, said what Sanders just described "goes together with authoritarianism as like the chocolate and peanut butter of terrible ideas."

CBS, Musk and Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Following last year's acquisition of CBS and Paramount by Skydance Media, run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison, both Colbert and Sanders were vocal in their criticism of the merger.

Prior to the Skydance merger, Paramount, CBS's parent company, agreed on July 1, 2025, to pay President Donald Trump $16 million to settle his election interference lawsuit over the network's editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

"I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It’s a ‘big fat bribe,’ because it all comes as Paramount’s owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance!" Colbert said.

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CBS staffers were outraged over the settlement, which also prompted extensive backlash from media watchdogs, journalism advocacy groups, liberal journalists and Democratic lawmakers. 

Sanders issued a scathing statement saying the settlement sets an "extremely dangerous precedent in terms of both the First Amendment and government extortion," while Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., accused Paramount of taking a "bribe" and threatened future federal charges. 

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Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.