Business
Fortunes made in land get secured by moving into the everyday services people can't avoid, such as electricity, gas, buses, telecoms and supermarkets. Dominance across these unrelated necessities makes the wealth both larger and safer.
Big developers beat the state at its own land sales by controlling timing and pricing. They can outwit or simply wait out officials until deals come on their terms.
A government can hand out land instead of cash to reward favoured private or semi-public bodies. Because land grants escape the legislative oversight that money faces, they become an unchecked channel for favours.
Developers and their cartels can extract extortionate prices without breaking any law. The fault lies in a system that legally hands them pricing power over consumers and political power over officials.
Real wealth is protected by sway over land rules and competition law, not just by market success. Government policy itself can shore up the positions of a few giant conglomerates.
When government works for the wealthy, ordinary people lose economic security and wellbeing, and civic norms decay. The resentment that follows is deep and broad enough for protest groups to gain wide support.
An economy can be called one of the world's freest while a handful of families and firms actually control it and choke off competition. Low taxes and light regulation don't create competition when steep barriers keep new entrants out.
When a city's scarce land is held by a few developers, they set the price floor for every business and household that needs space. Land is the most precious resource, so whoever dominates its supply dominates the whole economy.
A few large companies can control every stage of property, from land supply and construction to the management firms that tenants and owners are then obliged to hire. Owning each link means profit is taken at every step and no outsider gets a foothold.