Study shows powerful corporations really do control the world's finances

Study shows powerful corporations really do control the world's finances

www.physorg.com

For many years conventional wisdom has said that the whole world is controlled by the monied elite, or more recently by the huge multi-national corporations that seem to sometime control the very air we breathe. Now, new research by a team based in ETH-Zurich, Switzerland, has shown that what we’ve suspected all along, is apparently true. The team has uploaded their results onto the preprint server arXiv

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
arxiv.org

Well, I've been wondering when someone would finally get around to doing a multifaceted analysis of global transnational corporate activities....

It only took a few years but finally, someone can show how among the 30,000,000 corporate actors in the world (per their database,) a paltry 150 or so overshadow all as the 'masters' of the financial world....

Using data obtained (circa 2007) from the Orbis database (a global database containing financial information on public and private companies) the team, in what is being heralded as the first of its kind, analyzed data from over 43,000 corporations, looking at both upstream and downstream connections between them all and found that when graphed, the data represented a bowtie of sorts, with the knot, or core representing just 147 entities who control nearly 40 percent of all of monetary value of transnational corporations (TNCs).

Will the study be ignored by the media. Or will we, the few engaged observers, defend the status quo and say this is the way it should be? I have to wonder; because the study is not showing us something that we were unaware of... it only confirms what has been logically evident since about one hundred years ago... if not a bit less.

The team then graphed the results in several different ways to show the different ways that corporate ownership is held; the main theme in each, showing that just a very few corporations through direct and indirect ownership (via stocks, bonds, etc.) exert tremendous influence over the actions of those corporations, which in turn exert a huge impact on the rest of us.

The authors conclude their report by asking, perhaps rhetorically, what are the implications of having so few exert so much influence, and perhaps more importantly, in an economic sense, what the implications are of such a structure on market competitiveness.

The abstract includes a particularly meaningful line:

We present the first investigation of the architecture of the international ownership network, along with the computation of the control held by each global player. We find that transnational corporations form a giant bow-tie structure and that a large portion of control flows to a small tightly-knit core of financial institutions. This core can be seen as an economic "super-entity" that raises new important issues both for researchers and policy makers.

You want to know where the NWO/Global governance push is coming from? Pay attention.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/ce92ffe22fd6.jpg[/atsimg]

((all emphasis mine)

www.physorg.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

As obvious as it already was, it's good to have some kind of proof.

Thanks for sharing.

I'm surprised to see Lehman and BoA
on the list of key players.
Seeing as they are
not doing well.

But my misconceptons aside,
this report is a real eye opener.


David Grouchy

Interesting that it was a Swiss study...that's one of the Bilderbergers' favorite collusion sites, isn't it? And a "neutral" country, which also allows HUGE BANK ACCOUNTS to be held by nameless banksters...

So, will they distribute this globally? They don't seem to make much noise on the worldwide stage.

frown

Really?

Wow man i'm really shocked!

*Note:This was a sarcasm

The recent wars have consolidated the wealth in the hands of a few. If you are angry about being exploited, direct your anger at these people, not the riot police.

Here we go... the thread to end all threads!
(Though I'm sure the "reptilian, shape-shifting alien being"-leaning contributors will disagree!)

This is the "real-world" angle that really interests me when delving into conspiracy theories... though, as Maxmars points out, these are the "conspiracies" that are hidden in plain sight, as it were.

Here is a very interesting (though almost overwhelming) website, with a focus very similar to that of the Swiss study: littlesis.org....

Again, as Maxmars points out, there are those that will continue to defend this status quo, I can here them now... "but trickle down... the gipper said it... t-r-i-c-k-l-e d-o-w-n!"

But the way I see it, it is proof that the socio-economic and political system has not changed significantly from the feudal monarchies and aristocracies which existed just a few hundred years ago.
It is by giving us "plebes" the illusion that the situation has changed that the "elite" has managed to keep the power structure status quo in place. I doubt that this will get much, if any, mainstream media attention, as the other means of making sure power does not get transferred to "the people" is to attempt to keep us ignorant of the situation.

Thanks for posting, I sense hours of enjoyment will be had going through all of this!

the Billmeister

Originally posted by Maxmars
finally, someone can show how among the 30,000,000 corporate actors in the world (per their database,) a paltry 150 or so overshadow all as the 'masters' of the financial world....

Epic thread alert!! Ludicrous speed... GOoooooo!

I think it was Cecil B. Demill who said,

"At'salotta actors!"

Think about how many shareholders and directors there are? How many beneficiaries and trustees and so forth! Damn, this world has more directors than doctors!

Unfortunately for the researchers, they could only work with data from 2007 and back.... which means their list of 'players' is a bit dated.... From a conspiratorial view, it also means that the playing field has changed enough that this information may not seem threatening to their entrenched positions of control....

Here's a brief 'vanilla flavored' breakdown of some of the key players (extracted from the sample illustration provided for the release):

(Just for the thrill of formatting.. i will highlight all nations and regions mentioned in bold and will underline references to other banks or financial institutions)


Franklin Resources Inc. NYSE: BEN is a holding company which, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as Franklin Templeton Investments; it is an investment firm originally founded in New York in 1947 as Franklin Distributors, Inc.
__________

Commerzbank AG is the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Commerzbank is mainly active in commercial bank, retail banking and mortgaging.
__________

The Credit Suisse Group AG (SIX: CSGN, NYSE: CS) is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.
__________

Deutsche Bank AG (literally "German Bank"; pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈbaŋk]) is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. The investment bank division is head-quartered in London, United Kingdom. The bank employs more than 100,000 people in 74 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets. With a market share of 21 percent, Deutsche Bank is the largest foreign exchange dealer in the world.
__________

Barclays PLC (LSE: BARC, NYSE: BCS) is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. As of 2010 it was the world's 10th-largest banking and financial services group and 21st-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine. It has operations in over 50 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America and around 48 million customers. As of 30 June 2010 it had total assets of €1.94 trillion, the third-largest of any bank worldwide (after BNP Paribas and HSBC).
__________

UBS AG (SIX: UBSN, NYSE: UBS) is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. It operates in more than 40 countries and considered as the world's second largest manager of private wealth assets, with over CHF 2.2 trillion in invested assets. UBS operates in all of the major financial centers worldwide with offices in over 50 countries and 64,000 employees around the world. UBS traces its heritage, through its predecessors, to 1854.

UBS was originally an abbreviation for the Union Bank of Switzerland, one of its predecessors; however, UBS ceased to be considered a representational abbreviation after its 1998 merger with Swiss Bank Corporation.
__________

T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) is a publicly owned Investment firm, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1937 by Thomas Rowe Price, Jr.. The company offers mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individuals, institutions, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. Additionally, the organization offers investment planning and guidance tools.

The company's founder may be best known for developing the growth stock philosophy of investing, emphasizing companies whose earnings and dividends could be expected to grow faster than inflation and the overall economy. Instead of charging a commission, as others in the business did at the time, Price charged a fee based on the assets under management.
__________

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol LEH) (pronounced /ˈliːmən/) was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch), doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading (especially U.S. Treasury securities), market research, investment management, private equity, andprivate banking.

On September 15, 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the massive exodus of most of its clients, drastic losses in its stock, and devaluation of its assets by credit rating agencies. The filing marked the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and is thought to have played a major role in the unfolding of the late-2000s global financial crisis. The following day, Barclays announced its agreement to purchase, subject to regulatory approval, Lehman's North American investment-banking and trading divisions along with its New York headquarters building. On September 20, 2008, a revised version of that agreement was approved by US Bankruptcy Court Judge James M. Peck. The next week, Nomura Holdings announced that it would acquire Lehman Brothers' franchise in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, as well as Lehman Brothers' investment banking and equities businesses in Europe and the Middle East. The deal became effective on October 13, 2008.
__________

The Prudential Insurance Company of America (NYSE: PRU) is a Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the United States and in over 30 other countries. Principal products and services provided include life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, pension- and retirement-related investments, administration and asset management, securities brokerage services, and commercial and residential real estate in many states of the U.S. It provides these products and services to individual and institutional customers through distribution networks in the financial services industry. Prudential has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America and has organized its principal operations into the Financial Services Businesses and the Closed Block Business.

Prudential is composed of hundreds of subsidiaries and holds more than $2 trillion of life insurance.
__________

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000. The company reports US$779 billion as assets under its management. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
__________

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travelers Group on April 7, 1998.

Citigroup Inc. has the world's largest financial services network in the world, spanning 140 countries with approximately 16,000 offices worldwide. The company currently employs approximately 260,000 staff around the world, which is down from 267,150 in 2010 according to Forbes. It also holds over 200 million customer accounts in more than 140 countries. It is a primary dealer in US Treasury securities. According to Forbes, at its height Citigroup used to be the largest company and bank in the world by total assets with 357,000 employees until the global financial crisis of 2008. Today it is ranked 24th in terms of assets size compared to HSBC which now ranks as the largest company and bank by assets in the world as of 2011.
__________

Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MER. Merrill agreed to a purchase by Bank of America on September 14, 2008, at the height of the 2008 Financial Crisis. It ceased to exist as a separate entity in January 2009.
__________

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, the largest bank holding company in the United States, by assets, and the second largest bank by market capitalization. Bank of America serves clients in more than 150 countries and has a relationship with 99% of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83% of the Fortune Global 500. The company is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a component of both the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

As of 2010, Bank of America is the 5th largest company in the United States by total revenue, as well as the second largest non-oil company in the U.S. (after Walmart). In 2010, Forbes listed Bank of America as the 3rd "best" large company in the world.

The bank's 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch made Bank of America the world's largest wealth manager and a major player in the investment banking industry.
__________

State Street Corporation, or just simply State Street is a U.S. based financial services holding company. State Street was founded in 1792, and is headquartered in the Financial District area of Boston at One Lincoln Street.State Street has offices in major financial centers throughout the world. State Street's Corporate Headquarters located in Boston,Massachusetts.

State Street Bank and Trust Company, a custodian bank, and its sister company State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), which is a leading registered investment advisor, together comprise the principal operating companies within parent company State Street Corporation. State Street Bank provides securities services to institutional investors as a custodian bank and SSgA provides investment management services to mutual funds and other asset managers. State Street customers include mutual funds and their advisers, collective investment funds, corporate and public pension funds, insurance companies, operating companies and non-profit organizations.

State Street presence complete range of financial services with 2,800 employees in eight cities throughout Asia Pacific with headquarters located in Hong Kong.
__________

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is an American multinational banking corporation of securities, investments and retail. It is a major provider of financial services, with assets of US$2 trillion and according to Forbes magazine is the world's largest public company. The hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest hedge funds in the United States. It was formed in 2000, when Chase Manhattan Corporation merged with J.P. Morgan & Co.

The J.P. Morgan brand is used by the investment banking as well as the asset management, private banking, private wealth management and treasury & securities services divisions. Fiduciary activity within private banking and private wealth management is done under the aegis of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. — the actual trustee.
__________

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 and is headquartered at 200 West Street in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City, with additional offices in major international financial centers. The firm provides mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting services, asset management, and prime brokerage to its clients, which include corporations, governments and individuals. The firm also engages in proprietary trading and private equitydeals, and is a primary dealer in the United States Treasury security market.

Former employees include Robert Rubin and Henry Paulson who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, respectively, as well as Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada since 2008.
__________

The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol BSC) based in New York City, was a global investment bank and securities trading and brokerage, until its collapse and fire sale to JPMorgan Chase in 2008. The main business areas, based on 2006 net revenue distributions, were capital markets (equities, fixed income, investment banking; just under 80%), wealth management (under 10%), and global clearing services (12%).

Bear Stearns was involved in securitization and issued huge amounts of asset-backed securities, which in the case of mortgages were pioneered by Lewis S. Ranieri, "the father of mortgage securities". As investor losses mounted in those markets in 2006 and 2007, the company actually increased its exposure, especially the mortgage-backed assets that were central to the subprime mortgage crisis. In March 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York provided an emergency loan to try to avert a sudden collapse of the company. The company could not be saved, however, and was sold to JP Morgan Chase for $10 per share, a price far below the 52-week high of $133.20 per share, traded before the crisis, although not as low as the two dollars per share originally agreed upon by Bear Stearns and JP Morgan Chase.

The collapse of the company was a prelude to the risk management meltdown of the Wall Street investment bank industry in September 2008, and the subsequent global financial crisis and recession. In January 2010, JPMorgan discontinued use of the Bear Stearns name.

__________


For those paying attention note that neither Nomura Holdings nor HSBC are pictured in the graphic, although by all accounts they probably should be there if the data were more up to date. As a point of principle, here are there 'vanilla flavored' descriptions.....



Nomura Holdings, Inc. (野村ホールディングス株式会社) is a Japanese financial holding company, and a principal member of the Nomura Group.
In October 2008 the company announced that it would buy Lehman Brothers Holdings's investment banking and equities unit in Asia and Europe and keep on most of its employees. Nomura would pay $225 million for the purchase of Lehman's Asian-Pacific unit. Nomura will retain the 2000+ employees of Lehman's Powai (Mumbai, India) office.

__________

HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. As of 2011 it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine. It has around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America and around 100 million customers. As of 30 June 2010, it had total assets of $2.418 trillion, of which roughly half were in Europe, a quarter in the Americas and a quarter in Asia.

HSBC Holdings plc was founded in London in 1991 by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to act as a new group holding company and to enable the acquisition of UK-based Midland Bank. The origins of the bank lie in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where branches were first opened in 1865. Today, HSBC remains the largest bank in Hong Kong, and recent expansion in mainland China, where it is now the largest international bank, has returned it to that part of its roots.

HSBC is a universal bank and is organised within four business groups: Commercial Banking; Global Banking and Markets (investment banking); Personal Financial Services (retail banking); and Private Banking.

__________


Tired of reading yet? Well grab a cup of coffee, tea, or something stronger because the truth is a long train ride into a longer dark tunnel......

.... I invite you to the journey.

reply to post by Maxmars


It would be very interesting to cross-reference this list with the recipients of the list of corporations who recieved the trillions of dollars in secret loans by the U.S. Federal Reserve (well... once secret, with very valiant attempts to keep it secret)... I think I see a lot of similar names!

the Billmeister

reply to post by Billmeister


Actually - there are a lot of cross-reference opportunities here.... major holders in media, telecommunications, infrastructure, energy cartel, big pharma, big aggro.... also participation in UN committees, CFR, Bilderberg-ites, IMF, WTO, NATO, EU, ISB, Trilateral Commission, and many many more.... I hope some ATS'ers are inspired to dig with us.... anyone?.... anyone? ... Buehler?.

It's a smorgasbord of conspiracy! Line up!

It is good to see some transparency cut through the mountain of corporate paperwork and hidden tricks to develop a picture of just what is going on in the power hierarchy of the world. This network analysis still looks like it in its early days as more factors like board members, accounting tricks and hidden trusts come to light and developed a clearer definition of control.

One of the strengths the oligarchy has in maintaining its power is with is secrecy. With more public attention and accountability placed on this hidden power structure it will help pull it back in line or bring it down.

reply to post by Maxmars

[color=limegreen]Will the study be ignored by the media. Or will we, the few engaged observers, defend the status quo and say this is the way it should be? I have to wonder; because the study is not showing us something that we were unaware of... it only confirms what has been logically evident since about one hundred years ago... if not a bit less.

Yeah this will be ignored, the media is controlled! They're a part of it, so I can't imagine how any news agency would report this.

It's really scary that so few people have the power to change the daily lives of millions. The decisions made by a few rich guys can change the fate of our country. For all we know it could be a game to them, they could be so incredibly powerful that they just make a joke out of civilization and just use people as pawns on their global chessboard.

finaly parts of the Committee of 300 are scientifically proven/revealed...

secure.wikimedia.org...

"Only 300 men, each of whom knows all others, govern the fate of the Continent." Walther Ratheneau, (1909) 1922. Zur Kritik der Zeit. Berlin. p.207

www.archive.org.../206/mode/2up

reply to post by Maxmars


Nice dude! Sweet find and thank you for bringing it to our attention. God knows the MSM will mostly likely not cover this. But it is fantastic to finally have 'proof' that the few do indeed control the many. Next step is to spread this word around to friends and family.

This is eerily reminiscent of THIS thread.

13. Make the masses believe they had been the prey of criminals. Then restore order to appear as the saviors.

These 300+ are the ones that are going to try to appear as saviors and will throw every corporation below them under the bus.

If you also notice, all of these "controllers" are masters of the money and financial instruments, they are not corporations that actually produce anything material.

They use this to control the corporations that produce, as well as everything else since our whole entire survival system is based on currency and money.

"Let me issue and control a nation's money, and I care not who writes its laws" - Mayer Amschel Rothschild

These entities control ALL of the nation's currencies. Until someone steps up to take these people on, it's hopeless.

I'd like to see what kind of a plan someone could come up with to remove them from power, but just like a terrorist organization, these people have several others lined up behind them that would take their place and carry on the "mission".

I hope someone changes it, and really soon.

~Namaste

reply to post by Maxmars


Some of those webs ought to have a flame put to them.

Seems to me like their power is in mind only, however. For if they were ever to come falling down, we the people would just go our merry way using some other form of currency or something.

I'm going to do some studies and sell them to these news corporations.

Here are some studies I hope to get funded soon:

Water: Is It Wet?

Snow: Is It Cold?

The Sun: Is It Hot?

Giraffes: Are They Mammals?

Palm Trees: Are They Plants?

If anyone wishes to fund these important studies please contact me by PM.

It's funny..., there's been a couple of these "No.. DUH! " responses now (not complaining) ... so I want to make something clear....

I urge you to research this study.

This is not about the obvious... it is about looking at a snapshot from 2007 and noting which corporations are doing what. Essentially they can (if not are) collapse the world economy at a whim.... and let me tell you I heard some great wisdom from a fictional character... "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing."

What's important now, if we wish to pretend that we can make a difference, is that we learn "who" are the "actors" in this scenario, because I expect they are still the one's in control.... or at least, I have no reason to believe that they wither in the light of day.... It is past time for more of us to become enlightened to the true nature of our vulnerabilities .. .as well as from whom we can expect exploitation. We already know the government no longer functions to protect us from these transnational corporations, or even from themselves.