150 people run the world, supposedly
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya spoke with unusual frankness to the “leaders of the future” at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
“There are about 150 people who run the world – [they’re not politicians] anybody who wants to go into politics, they’re all f**king puppets. There are 150, and they’re all men, who run the world. They control most of the important assets and the money flows – they are not the tech entrepreneurs.”
“When you get behind the curtain and see how that world works what you realise is that it’s unfairly set up for them and their progeny.”
Chamath Palihapitiya
Speaking at Stanford Graduate School of Business in November 2017.
How many people run the world?
150 people do not run the world. It’s true there are 150 influential people in the world. It’s true there are “rich elites”.
Tom Mills:
“Recognizing that [the elites] will organize in defence of their interests, or those they represent, is not paranoid conspiracy theory but a basic political reality, and one we need to confront.”
Gabriel Gatehouse talking to Louis Theroux about The Coming Storm – Gatehouse’s BBC radio series about conspiracy theories and the Capitol Insurrection:
“[some of 4Chan / Anonymous beliefs] about the dysfunction of the world… boiled down to the world is controlled by an unaccountable elite, which has its elements in QAnon. And they’re not wrong. The world is controlled by an unaccountable elite.”
“If you look at it literally, it [QAnon] is kind of mad. But if you take it as a parable, well, yeah – the world is controlled by an unaccountable elite.”
Author David Rothkopf identifies a “Global Power Elite” of 6000 people in his book Superclass. Still, 6000 people do not run the world.
The truth is, millions of people run the world. The workers run the world. The grandparents who look after the workers’ children run the world.
If you’re looking for something to investigate, look at the rising rates of inequality and the number of media outlets that are owned by billionaires. Ask why many media outlets deify the rich and powerful. Ask who benefits from weakened trade unions and societies in conflict.
The masses run the world. If we could stop getting distracted by divisive stories and unite we’d see more of the benefits of our labours.
Why would Chamath Palihapitiya say that 150 people run the world?
There’s a number of possibilities. Perhaps he has fallen for a conspiracy theory.
Palihapitiya’s “there are about 150 people who run the world” does sound similar to a statement made by German politician Walther Rathenau in 1909:
“Three hundred men, all of whom know one another, guide the economic destinies of the Continent and seek their successors from their own milieu.”
Rathenau maintained that he was referring to business people, but antisemites twisted his words, weaving his statement into baseless conspiracy theories that were later used by the Nazis.
Perhaps Palihapitiya is referencing the Bilderberg Meeting and its 150-ish participants.
I think it’s more likely that Palihapitiya is speaking for effect, and playing to the crowd.
He’s telling a simple story, a version of the Great man theory, about how power works, that many North Americans enjoy, believe in, and that casts Palihapitiya’s ambitions in a positive light. Many in his Stanford audience want to be part of the “elite” if they’re not already, so will gladly have their biases reinforced with an unthreatening narrative.
It also allows Palihapitiya to subtly self-aggrandise, to position himself as powerful and knowledgeable.