How many people rule the world?

I don't know about committee of 300 or bildeberger, but there are some people with an extreme amount of influence on the world. The money system, at least in America works at least partially by people outside our government. That is they own very big banks and get to vote on decisions that can change credit interest. You'd be hard pressed to find something major that didn't run off credit. So there you have a few men who could possiblly shift America's money into their interest, this in effect would change the world vicariously. I have heard that Germany's system works the same way, starting after World War II had ended. Also people with alot of money are going to have major impact on world as a whole. Media for example is ran by the rich, no one can deny that. Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Rupert Murdock and such. GE and Westinghouse have supressed bad media. It seems to me if you are above the law and scrutiny you will be afforded the chance to take advantage of others. Such as suppress technology that would benefit mankind to the monetary disadvantage of the current suplier, be it energy or pharmaceutical giants (btw With no energy food would become scarce immediatly, no transportation, no refrigeration).

There certainly is some weird things out there I don't quite understand, but I don't see how skull and bones rule the world. Perhaps they are controlled by someone with real power, but that would be the extent of it.

[edit on 7-8-2005 by Cattlest]

I think the most influential person as far as interst rates are concerned, is Allan Greenspan. When he talkes, everyone else listens with a dumb look on their faces.

Heres some people who in my opinion, rule the world, in no preticular order.

Samuel J. Palmisano
Who is he?
The CEO of IBM as of 2002.
Why does he rule the world?
Currently, he is the head of IBM. If you do not know what IBM is, it is the worlds largest manufactor and designer of supercomputers. It's supercomputers and mainframes are used throughout almost every major business, corporation, and throughout many 1st world countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Great Britian, to name a few. Its owns several major communication systems, and its systems are broadly used nearly everywhere. They are the first and foremost authority in the creation of ATMs, and are in a constant communication with many governments for the next big computer project. They clearly, have a firm grasp in all politics of various corporations, businesses, and world powers.

H.Lee Scott
Who is he?
The CEO of the Wal-Mart Corporation.
Why does he rule the world?
The Wal-Mart corporation is the largest private employeer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. And, based on revenuee, is the largest corporation in the entire world. Making over 285 billion dollars in sales, if it was its own economy, it alone would rank 33rd in the world, with a GDP between Ukraine and Colombia (and for a sole business, that ain't half bad.) Wal-mart holds 8.9 Percent of the retail store market share, which means $8.90 out of $100 dollars spent in Retail stores in the US goes to Wal-mart. The Wal-mart corporation also has a total of 5,246 stores planted throughout the entire world! With all the economic power Wal-mart has, H.Lee Scott is a very powerful man, and has alot of political leverage.

Michael J. Roberts
Who is he?
The President of the Mcdonalds Corporation.
Why does he rule the world?
The Mcdonalds corporation is the undisputed king of the fast food resturant. It has 30,000 resturants scattered throughout a countless number of countries, has 51,000,000 customers a day, and 1,700 customers per one resturant, every single day. One in eight workers in the United states has, at some point in their lives, worked at a Mcdonalds. Mcdonalds is also the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes. Mcdonalds has also become an emblem for Globalization. Because of its massive ammount of stores around the world, Mcdonalds has a massive cultural impact in all civilizations, and is recognized by almost every person in theworld.

Bill Gates
Who is he?
The Founder of the Microsoft Corporation.
Why does he rule the world?
Bill Gates, according to Forbes Magazine, is the wealthiest man in the world. Having Founded the Microsoft corporation, he was able to spread its product, the Windows operating system, like a plague. The Windows system is synonomous to the Computer to all but the more tech savvy of people. Because of this, almost every PC is sold with the Windows Operating system, including government computers. With over $46.5 Billion dollars being made a year, Bill Gates has enough money to undoubtibly buy whatever he wants, and influence anyone.

Eric E. Schmidt
Who is he?
The CEO and Director of Google Incorporated.
Why does he rule the world?
The Google Corporation makes just under a billion dollars a year. Though this pales in comparison to many of the afformentioned corporations, Google has a power that goes beyond money. It currently runs 80% of all internet searches, which means it has a complete survey of what peoples interests are, aswell as what they are buying, selling, or looking for. Google itself has had a massive cultural impact, now being in the dictionary as a slang term in itself, it led a new generation of internet savvy people. There is no doubt that Google has a cultural influence, and because of which, has alot of power in the world.

Leslie Moonves and Tom Freston
Who are they?
the Co-presidents of the Viacom Corporation
Why do they rule the world?
The Viacom is the largest international media conglomerate in the world. Not only that, but the companies Viacom own touch almost every major aspect of the media industry. The Viacom corporation owns CBS, MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures, Showtime, UPN, Comedy Central, Spike TV, VH1, Nickelodeon, The Movie Channel, The Sundance Channel, Kings World Production, Paramont Home entertainment, CBS Broadcasting International, The WB, Blockbuster Video, Infinity Broadcastin, Metro Networks, The Free Press, Touchstone, Scribner, and Viacom Productions. Because of the massive ammount of influence in all of this, they hold a massive ammount of power in terms of shareholders, lobbying, and overall community influence.

Robert A. Iger
Who is he?
The President of the Walt Disney Corporation.
Why does he rule the world?
The Walt Disney corporation is one of the largest media corporation in the world, and the 2nd largest in the United States. The Walt Disney Corporation owns many different media companies, the American Broadcast corporation, Buena Vista Distribution, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Walt Disney Studios, and the many Walt Disney Parks and Resorts scattered throughout the world. It holds a revenuee of $30.8 billion dollars a year, but more importantly, it has a large cultural impact. Every child has probably seen a Walt Disney movie, and its animated cartoons have made Walt Disney a household name around the world. Despite the cute and cuddly nature of the Disney franchise, it is, first and foremost, a business. And the Corporation, with both a large ammount of lobbyists, and influence throughout all generations of people, is immensely powerful.

Richard D. Parson
Who is he?
The CEO and President of AOL Time Warner.
Why does he rule the world?
The AOL Time Warner company is the single largest media entity, with branches in all media outlits, including the internet, radio, television, movies, and telecommunication. Because of this, AOL Time Warner has a massive ammount of influence in both political agendas, and corporate powers.

Rupert Murdoch
Who is he?
The CEO of the News Corporation.
Why does he rule the world?
Rupert Murdoch created and runs the News Corporation. The News Corporation owns countless newspapers in America, London, and Australia, such as the New York Post. It owns 20th Century Fox, the Fox Network,which is the largest news network currently in the united states, five satellite television corporations, and has a strict grip on all things news. Because of this, Whatever he believes politicially, will be expressed in any of these countless medias, and will inturn, influence all whom reads them. This is a very powerful position, which makes him one of the definite rulers of the world.

The Roman Catholic Pope
Who is he?
The head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Why does he rule the world?
The Pope is the embodiement of the worlds largest religious organization. He has the singular power to change the beliefs of roughly 2 billion people within a moments notice, and has the political power to influence almost any country that has a large population of Catholics. The acts of the Pope, and the Roman Catholic church, has seen countless crusades, genocides over religious indifference, and countless wars and struggles. The Pope, unlike any other person on the list, has the singular power to request a mass extinction of a people, and have his follows fully obey. He has the power to tell people how to vote in their governments elections, and they will almost definitely obey.

Lee Raymond,Jeroen van der Veer, Phillip Jordan, John Browne
Who Are they?
The heads of the four largest oil companies in the world
why do they rule the world?
Lee Raymond is the CEO of Exxonmobile, Jeroen Van Der Veer is the CEO of Shell, Phillip Jordan is the CEO of Total C.A., and John Browne is the CEO of BP oil. These are the four largest oil companies, and they all have a massive ammount of influence in theworld. The world, simply enough, is run by oil. Petrolium products are used in almost everything, from plastics to the clothes you wear, our current civilization thrives on oil. These four oil companies are the four first and foremost distributors of oil and petroleum, and because of that, they hold a large influence in governments. Imagine if one day they all declared they would not sell theyre oil to the US government untill the president resigned? What kindof impact would it have on any government if they could not get a supply of the single resource we depend on the most? They hold a very powerful position, because they all hold the link to the resource we need for our civilizations to function.

Robert J. Stevens
Who is he?
The President of Lockheed Martin.
Why does he rule the world?
Lockheed Martin is the single largest defense contractor in the world, with 130,000 workers employeed worldwide. Its products include some of the worlds best known military aircafts, ATC systems, ballistic missiles, munitions, NMD elements, radar, satellites, and numerous other systems.

Jack Valintini
Who is he?
The CEO of the MPAA
Why does he rule the world?
The Motion Picture Association of America is one of the largest politicial lobbyists within the United States. they hold a tremendous political power, and cultural power, and hold a monopoly of most major film organizations. It rakes in millions of dollars the film industry grosses, and uses it for political motives. Aswell as being able to use movie stars for political movements, they have a strong power to influence citizens, aswell as senators.

Paul Wolfowitz
Who is he?
The Head of the World Bank Group
Why does he rule the world?
The World Bank holds some of the largest sums of money internationally. They have to sole power to loan and distribute money to any country in the world, forcing many governments to have to pay them back in compesations. The World Bank can use this money as a tremendous political influence, giving parties and governments more money as favoritism. This gives Paul Wolfowitz, and any of his political opinions, in high regards.


Are these all the people in power? no, but this is a large group of some of the most powerful people who rule the world. And none of them are really politicians, but instead, for the most part, businessmen. The majority of people that have power, have it because of either cultural influence (like the Roman Catholic Church's Pope) or through what greases the wheels, money. Whether it be IBM, or the World bank, if the people have money, they have influence in governments.




[edit on 8-7-2005 by WolfofWar]

Excellent post, WolfofWar. Those people definitely have a ton of world influence, amongst others. While I didn't know all the names you listed specifically, I was not surprised to see the names of top computer businesses and media barons on your list.

The one entry on your list that did totally blow me away was the Walmart one. I knew they were big, but not THAT big. Wow. The biggest private employer in North America. $285B revenue. That's massive!

I'm giving you a WATS for this awesome post

Originally posted by ConspiracyNut23
The definition of “rule” will of course greatly vary, so I should restrict it a bit:

In your opinion, how many people collectively control
1. Food supply
2. Water supply
3. Energy supply
4. Land
5. Money supply
6. Military?

In order to make this interesting all members should begin their post with a number from1 to 6,450,000,000 (6,45 billion= world population).

The answer is and always shall be: The entire world poplulation. If we do not control these things, it is by choice, but still an illusion that we do not.

If I were to say 72 people control and rule over all of it, then:

6,449,999,927 people on this world are responsible and accountable for nothing.

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher
The answer is and always shall be: The entire world poplulation. If we do not control these things, it is by choice, but still an illusion that we do not.

If I were to say 72 people control and rule over all of it, then:

6,449,999,927 people on this world are responsible and accountable for nothing.

Esoteric Teacher has made the most important post of all. Maybe conspiracy theory really is a lack of unwillingness to take responsibility for one's own life and problems. Keep pinning the blame on these straw men and we will never change our world for ourselves.

I'm giving Esoteric Teacher a WATS for this awesome post!

You Know! that when the Dark Lord shows up there is going to be some very serious restructuring going on. I wouldn't want to be on the CFR or affiliated with the Bilderbergers when he gets back to town. If these jokers are running things in 'Abstencia', then they have really screwed up, Cuz there are way too many free thinkers running amock!!! And not nearly enough suffering and pain being applied to the masses.

Originally posted by sharkman
And not nearly enough suffering and pain being applied to the masses.

I agree, those who attend mass have not had enough suffering and pain applied to them.

seriosly, though:

You submit the arguement that there are too many free thinkers in the world. Then a logical and theological response would be:

A world devoid of free thinkers is a world devoid of FREE WILL. And a world devoid of free will is contrary to the will of GOD, as presented in the bible.

[edit on 08/12/71 by Esoteric Teacher]

Originally posted by sebatwerk
Esoteric Teacher has made the most important post of all. Maybe conspiracy theory really is a lack of unwillingness to take responsibility for one's own life and problems. Keep pinning the blame on these straw men and we will never change our world for ourselves.

I'm giving Esoteric Teacher a WATS for this awesome post!

Well, sure, that's nice and all changing our world for ourselves, but we are still being controlled whether we're aware of it or not, and I bet more than half of those 6,449,999,927 aren't because either they won't listen or because no one is doing a good job at informing properly. Tremendous power and greed control this planet, and sometimes the most evil things that could affect us all can be done by one person, just imagine 72. My point is, it's okay to talk about conspiracy theories because it opens up a discussion of different ideas and it can reach a large audience. Hoping that even the slightest ounce of truth shines through the cracks of deception.

Originally posted by eudaimonia

Originally posted by sebatwerk
Esoteric Teacher has made the most important post of all. Maybe conspiracy theory really is a lack of unwillingness to take responsibility for one's own life and problems. Keep pinning the blame on these straw men and we will never change our world for ourselves.

I'm giving Esoteric Teacher a WATS for this awesome post!

My point is, it's okay to talk about conspiracy theories because it opens up a discussion of different ideas and it can reach a large audience. Hoping that even the slightest ounce of truth shines through the cracks of deception.

Then that is point of view that states:

The only one's who run the planet also control all that is true. In order to control absolutley, then the monopoly on truth must be owned.

The truth is the truth can not be suppressed, nor owned. Therefore people should be responsible for thier own truth, but assuming others own it is just the easiest cop-out.

Hence: Everyone who accepts the global conspiracy theory accepts no responsibility or accountibility for their own truths, for they don't think they own their own truths, they believe others do.

The only one's who run the planet also control all that is true. In order to control absolutley, then the monopoly on truth must be owned.

The truth is the truth can not be suppressed, nor owned. Therefore people should be responsible for thier own truth, but assuming others own it is just the easiest cop-out.

Hence: Everyone who accepts the global conspiracy theory accepts no responsibility or accountibility for their own truths, for they don't think they own their own truths, they believe others do.

You can't suppress the truth? Isn't that what lying is for? To say that everyone who accepts there is a global conspiracy is very prejudice. It may happen, but everyone? You are right that everyone affects the world, but the media affects a very big proportion of that world. To say the media has never suppressed the truth would be a very ignorant statement. You seem like an alright guy, but you better check yourself.

Originally posted by Cattlest

The only one's who run the planet also control all that is true. In order to control absolutley, then the monopoly on truth must be owned.

The truth is the truth can not be suppressed, nor owned. Therefore people should be responsible for thier own truth, but assuming others own it is just the easiest cop-out.

Hence: Everyone who accepts the global conspiracy theory accepts no responsibility or accountibility for their own truths, for they don't think they own their own truths, they believe others do.

To say that everyone who accepts there is a global conspiracy is very prejudice.

I never said everyone does, I stated everyone who does ....

You are right that everyone affects the world, but the media affects a very big proportion of that world. To say the media has never suppressed the truth would be a very ignorant statement. You seem like an alright guy, but you better check yourself.

"To say the media has never suppressed the truth would be a very ignorant statement."

To interpret what I said to mean that efforts have not been made to suppress the truth would be a very ignorant statement.

To say I SAID everyone should believe everything the media presents as truth would be a very ignorant statement.

To imply I believe efforts have not been made to suppress or twist the truth (SPIN) or that I believe the media should be trusted without question would be more than ignorant, it would be stupid.

Lies and false statements can be proven wrong.

Truth cannot be proven to be untrue.

Therefore it is possible to suppress lies, and one is far more unlikely to suppress the truth, especially over time.

The media has an agenda: Ratings
The truth has an agenda: The truth.

"To say the media has never suppressed the truth would be a very ignorant statement.

I never said the media hasn't tried to suppress the truth, I said it is impossible to suppress the truth. Eventually truth must win out.

As for the media:

They are operating under the rules that give them better ratings, therefor it is society that provides them with better ratings when it is reporting on things that create fear and hate, because

RATINGS go down with good news and reporting truth and love.

So, if ratings didn't go down, and people wanted the truth, perhaps it is our responsibility to instill that hunger for truth within people, instead of the state of mind so many are in.

Looking for external causes for what holds people back is simply a cop-out to support their state of mind that they are nothing but a victim, when in reality they are nothing but afraid. Sorry if the truth hurts, but you may be just one more example of why people aren't ready for the truth.

I have checked myself, and:

I choose to be responsible for the world I live in,
not idly sit back and imply only a select few run everything, and there is nothing I can do about it. That truth just doesn't seem true.

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher
In order to control absolutley, then the monopoly on truth must be owned.

I believe full heartedlly in this statement. Where I differ is that I believe the truth can be suppressed. Maybe not completely which may be what you were conveying, but I believe it can be suppressed enough to disastrous results as we have seen in history (something most people accept as pure fact upon learning). About the media, ratings are a very big part of it, but what is more important is advertisers and other money sources. If something one of those doesn't want said on the news is said, they could threaten a networks bloodline.

Anyways, I'm a humble person who works nearly everyday and I know that no one can ruin my life but myself. Still I think there are some very powerful people out there using there influence to gain and reinforce power. I do think they effect my life, doesn't everybody? This is simply a topic of interest to mine, to see who has control. How this makes me unresponsible and unaccountable is beyond me.

Originally posted by Esoteric TeacherLooking for external causes for what holds people back is simply a cop-out to support their state of mind that they are nothing but a victim, when in reality they are nothing but afraid. Sorry if the truth hurts, but you may be just one more example of why people aren't ready for the truth.

Looking for external causes for what holds people back is not a cop-out, itis what it is. You may be right about this phantom soul, but that is for them find out themselves. If this is what you think is the truth for anyone who has ideas of a global power conspiracies than you are just another case of how the truth is not really the truth at all.

[edit on 8-8-2005 by Cattlest]

Originally posted by Cattlest
Anyways, I'm a humble person who works nearly everyday and I know that no one can ruin my life but myself. Still I think there are some very powerful people out there using there influence to gain and reinforce power. I do think they effect my life, doesn't everybody?

One of the things that really pisses me off is the fact that we don't have the choice to use nature based technology to run our transportation. I really hate having to use a petrol driven car everyday, but because of the work I do (to pay the bills that wouldn't exist if we all had access to free energy and were self-sufficient), I need to be able to transport my work tools and equipment.

The oil companies have a vested interest in not letting us have free energy because they wouldn't make any money, and there's not much we can do about it individually, because it would take such a huge amount of money to fight the oil companies (as they own most of the patents on free energy devices and have unlimited resources to fight things in the courts) to get these free energy devices developed, tested, manufactured and approved.

Thankfully, we are now finally starting to head towards using free energy systems, (the technology has been around for well over 100 years) but how long is it going to take before it's in common use? We are still reliant on oil, are prepared to fight wars over it, and there's not much you and I can do about this.

"Well, buy an electric car" you say, "quit your job and go live in a teepee and eat nuts and berries". OK, that's a fair call, but I have a family to think about, and even if I did, everyone else would still using their petrol cars everyday and still be trashing the planet.

Although I agree that it is our choice to give control to the system and it's a cop-out to say that the few people "at the top' are responsible for everything that's wrong in the world, I feel that this is one valid example of how people in positions of power can hold us back from being truly free.

I reckon it's a few families, of which I've heard of the Masons, Bilderbergs, Rothschilds and Rockefellers, but I haven't looked much into the people, because it doesn't really matter - it just matters that they want 80% of the Earth dead, and extended or immortal lives

Originally posted by Kandid
I reckon it's a few families, of which I've heard of the Masons, Bilderbergs, Rothschilds and Rockefellers, but I haven't looked much into the people, because it doesn't really matter - it just matters that they want 80% of the Earth dead, and extended or immortal lives

I realize you are new here (Very new actually), so I will take it easy.
If you make a statement like that, you should have SOMETHING to back it up with. The "masons" are not a family, but a fraternity. The Bilderbergers are not a family, but a group, that first met at the Bilderberg Hotel in the netherlands in 1954.

I would guess its probably a few thousand people from a few hundred prominent families that control 80+% of the free world. In 3rd and 4th world places its the local war lords and corrupt govt that controls everything, but that probably doesn't matter to the truly elite.


One question I have is does money and controlling power go hand in hand? I think it does to some extent, but the most powerful people have their wealth really hidden away and you probably don't even know their names.


Considering that Warren Buffet is worth 40+ Billion dollars where do you think he fits in?

Is he connected to the controllers or did he just accomplish what he did thru being a hard working savvy investor?


What about the Google guys? Bill Gates? Larry Ellison the CEO and founder of Oracle??

The idea of families running the world died out in 1776, when Capitalism was born. That is, after all, why it says New order of the Ages (Novus Ordo Seclorum), essentially, it was to be a paradigm shift in the way governments can be run. It was to be the end of sovernty, casting, monocracy, and imperialism. That would be the death of a family and group run world. Instead, in capitalism, companies took theyre place. As I showed in my previous post, companies have garnished an amazing ammount of political leverage in countries because of the singular entity that rules the world: Money. If a person, or company, has alot of money, they can influence the tide of any politics, just look at lobbyism. And if a company threatens to do something in retaliation of something in politics, think about how devestating it might be?

Think about if the oil companies stopped shipping oil to America, because they didn't like a recent election? Or what if a major network pulled theyre shows off the air, in order to make a point? Family rule is dead, capitalism has brought a new bull into the arena.

it seems to me that only a few people actually have information that isnt obvious, but the rebel saint is saying something that caught my attention.

wolfofwar has some knowledge, i would like to hear somemore from you.