When he bounded onstage at the Trump vulgarfest in Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, Elon Musk declared himself to be not just MAGA, but “dark, gothic MAGA.”

Believe him.

The sorry spectacle of leading industrialists, newspaper owners, tech executives, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and others seeking to ensure their good standing with Trump reflects a blend of cowardice and cupidity. Mark Zuckerberg, whom Trump labeled a “true enemy of the people” as recently as March, and called “Zuckerschmuck,” demonstrated that there are no hard feelings where money and power are concerned. He let it be known that he was moved by Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt, claiming that it stirred his patriotic heart to see a “badass” pump his fist.

Jeff Bezos, whose businesses span the globe and make him about as bulletproof as a figure can be in the face of a would-be autocrat, decided that his interest in government contracts for Blue Origin outweighs his dedication to American democracy.

This is what a second Trump term would bring: fat cats getting theirs. Trump is the most corrupt figure ever to disgrace the White House and has made no secret of his intention to reward friends and punish enemies if he regains power. The would-be oligarchs recognize the new game and are preparing to operate in a world where government impartiality and above-board decision making are relegated to the dustbin of history. The Supreme Court has greased the already slippery skids of Trumpian favor-granting by bestowing unreviewable immunity on presidents for official acts and presumed immunity for all but purely private acts. Put those things together and you have a perfect recipe for massive official corruption.

Consider tariffs. Trump claims to believe that they are the magic elixir for every ill (including subsidizing the costs of child care and obviating the necessity for income taxes) and denies that they will raise prices for American consumers. That’s all ludicrous, of course. What he doesn’t say is that they are also an engraved invitation to favor-seeking from large companies and other interests. Trump asserts that he has vast discretion to impose tariffs unilaterally, without the consent of Congress, and for once, he’s correct. Under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 1974 and other laws, the president can impose sweeping tariffs in the name of national security. This was the rationale Trump relied upon in 2018 to slap tariffs on steel coming from that major national security threat called Canada.

And tariffs are only one of the scores of paths for official corruption. There are government licenses, approval of mergers and acquisitions, leases for oil and gas development, and much more. Trump has already made his family and himself a huge pile through access to power and stands ready to open the floodgates in January.