If you look at politics today and you don’t live in Russia, North Korea, Turkey or the United States of Trumpistan, it’s very easy to get scared. Seems like everyone is showing off their nuclear arsenal. And that – sadly – wasn’t a euphemism. It’s like the Cold War all over again, and then some.
But who are the people really in power in those countries? Considering how three out of four of those countries are dictatorships or well on the way towards becoming dictatorships, it’s pretty easy to figure out who runs that show. For America however, the situation is an entirely different thing. In the United States, money equals power like nowhere else in the world. Let’s take a look at some of the most powerful people in America – small hint: it’s the CEOs of big corporations. Well, not as much a hint as it was a spoiler.
10. Larry Fink – CEO of BlackRock
Larry was a really popular candidate for the US Treasury Secretary, because he manages a company that holds 4,5 trillion dollars in assets. That’s a lot of money. Even for people that have a lot of money.
9. Mark Zuckerberg – CEO of Facebook
If you own Facebook, you own the people. And 50 billion dollars.
8. Larry Page – CEO of Alphabet
I mean, he doesn’t own the alphabet, but he does own Google. Yeah. Exactly.
7. Jeff Bezos – CEO of Amazon
The owner of the biggest e-commerce platform is worth $55 billion give or take a dollar or two. That’s not too bad, is it?
6. Abigail Johnson – CEO of Fidelity
See girls? You’ve totally broken through the glass ceiling. A woman made this list! I mean, she’s a power-hungry manipulative woman that tried to get her father out of the company, but she’s worth 18 billion dollars and her company manages 2 trillion dollars in assets. That allows you to be mean every once in a while.
5. Bill Gates – CEO of Microsoft
Bill Gates has so much power, he can force old people to finally buy a new laptop because he stopped supporting Windows Vista. I mean, he also runs a powerful charity, but getting old people to do pretty much anything requires an immense level of power.
4. Charles and David Koch – Executives of Koch Industries
These brothers run the second biggest company in America and are worth over $87 billion together. They have a political influence that runs very, very deep. So deep they can actually influence elections – kinda like George Soros. Well, I mean, technically everyone can, since you can vote but still not quite like these guys who do media buys of immense size.
3. Janet Yellen – Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve
This lady who is reminiscent of your very own granny, at home baking cookies, is actually the guardian of the entire US economy, and she’s been doing it amazingly well. Whether or not she increases the interest rates, determines the entire economic growth of the country. For some investors, this woman’s words are of the most important in the world.
2. Warren Buffet – CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Buffet has a personal fortune measured at $65 billion and he has long term staker in big companies like Coca-Cola, American Express and countless others. Warren is a long term investor and chooses his companies to invest in carefully.
1. The President of the United States
Contrary to what conspiracy theorists will tell you, the President does in fact have the last say in whatever happens. Why? Because he has the nuclear codes and commands the largest army in the world, that’s why. Money can’t save you from a Tomahawk missile to the face. Well, unless you use that money to build something that would protect you from a Tomahawk missile impact. But why go through all that trouble?
