Apple has crossed a $4 trillion valuation. That’s $495 for every single person on Earth — if we all shared it. But we don’t.
This video explores how its shareholders extract vast profits from billions of people locked into Apple’s ecosystem — and what it means for inequality, democracy and tax justice.
I ask: who really creates Apple’s wealth — and who benefits?
00:00 – Apple hits $4T: why that number matters
00:48 – $495 per human / $2,900 per iPhone user
01:45 – Market cap vs real assets: what Wall St is pricing
02:32 – Lock-in economics: ecosystems, upgrades, and extraction
03:28 – Who creates the value? Users, data, and dependence
04:15 – Hidden costs: supply chains, e-waste, and tax avoidance
05:25 – Big Tech concentration and shrinking democratic accountability
06:18 – “Freedom” devices that narrow choices
07:05 – Public consequences: inequality, weak services, political influence
08:00 – What must change: tax, transparency, access as a right
09:05 – A fair tech settlement: share the gains, protect the planet
TRANSCRIPT
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ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
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INTRODUCTION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#Apple #BigTech #AppleStock #MarketCap #4Trillion #AAPL #TechMonopoly #DigitalDivide #TaxJustice #ESG #Antitrust #DataPrivacy #EcosystemLockIn #Inequality #CorporateTax #Ewaste #Sustainability #PublicInterestTech #PlatformPower #economicjustice
Apple’s $4 trillion market cap exposes the power of Big Tech and the costs of platform lock-in. In this video, I break down what $4T means per person, per device, and per iPhone user, and why markets are really pricing future profit extraction—not shared prosperity. We discuss Apple’s ecosystem, data monetisation, supply-chain impacts, e-waste, tax avoidance, and the growing digital divide. I outline reforms: fair tech taxation, antitrust, mandatory transparency, and universal digital access. If you care about
#Apple,
#AAPL,
#BigTech,
#TaxJustice,
#Antitrust,
#ESG, and
#Sustainability, this is for you—policy ideas to share the gains of technology and protect democracy.
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