  I develop a rather simple agent-based model to capture a co-evolution of
opinion formation, political decision making and economic outcomes. I use this
model to study how societies form opinions if their members have opposing
interests. Agents are connected in a social network and exchange opinions, but
differ with regard to their interests and ability to gain information about
them. I show that inequality in information and economic resources can have a
drastic impact on aggregated opinion. In particular, my model illustrates how a
tiny, but well-informed minority can influence group decisions to their favor.
This effect is amplified if these agents are able to command more economic
resources to advertise their views and if they can target their advertisements
efficiently, as made possible by the rise of information technology. My results
contribute to the understanding of pressing questions such as climate change
denial and highlight the dangers that economic and information inequality can
pose for democracies.
