Welcome to the age of oligarchy: about the ascent of Evgeny Lebedev with Pieter Omtzigt and Paul Caruana Galizia episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 14, 2026 · 1H 29M

Welcome to the age of oligarchy: about the ascent of Evgeny Lebedev with Pieter Omtzigt and Paul Caruana Galizia

from De Balie

Welcome to the age of oligarchy, where money buys you influence, where the rich and powerful like to mingle and party and where self-enrichment, corruption and tax evasion are commonplace. Where democracy is threatened by the ultra-wealthy. In this first episode of a new four-part series, we dissect the modern oligarchy with Pieter Omtzigt and Paul Caruana Galizia.When you think of oligarchs, you probably imagine ultra-wealthy Russians with Vladimir Putin’s number in their phone. But oligarchy has spread to the Western world as well. Tech tycoons are closely intertwined with power, the United States is even led by an oligarch. In this new series we explore the shadowy network of billionaires, politicians, celebrities, and intellectuals – we introduce you: the new oligarchs.In this first episode, we speak with journalist Paul Caruana Galizia (Financial Times, podcast Londongrad). He wrote a book about the aftermath of the murder of his mother, Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who investigated corruption on her home island. Paul Caruana Galizia closely examined the rise of Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a spy who secured a seat in the House of Lords with the help of former prime minister Boris Johnson. Recently, he has been researching Donald Trump’s donors and how they have benefited from his second term.Paul Caruana Galizia is an investigative reporter at the Financial Times. He became a journalist in 2018 after his mother Daphne’s assassination and has since won ten journalism awards. He has also received the Magnitsky and Anderson-Lucas-Norman awards for campaigning for justice for his mother.Pieter Omtzigt is a former politician and member of the Dutch parliament. On behalf of the Council of Europe, Omtzigt investigated the functioning of the rule of law in Malta following the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.Programme editor: Ianthe MosselmanSupported by: VfondsZie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 14, 2026

Embed this episode

Paul Caruana Galizia closely examined the rise of Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a Russian spy who secured a seat in the House of Lords with the help of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

Ready to play

Welcome to the age of oligarchy: about the ascent of Evgeny Lebedev with Pieter Omtzigt and Paul Caruana Galizia

0:00 1:29:53

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of De Balie?

This episode is 1 hour and 29 minutes long.

When was this De Balie episode published?

This episode was published on June 14, 2026.

Can I download this De Balie episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!