@Neodoxy: It’s difficult to say, though I’m sure the Rothschilds know. To give you an idea of people who are probably “one degree of removal” from the most powerful people in the world, I would recommend you watch this.
Basically, this is how I think about it. There are legitimate power structures - government, politicians, judges, police, military, and so on. Then there are illegitimate power structures - drug lords, urban gangs, money launderers, and so on. The most powerful people on either side are not the most powerful people in the world - in other words, the most powerful politician or the most powerful drug lord is not the most powerful person of all. Rather, the most powerful people in the world sit astride these two realms. They operate at will either through the legitimate apparatus of power (governments) or through the illegitimate apparatus of criminal kingpins. It’s all based on social connections, family connections, fraternal connections, ethnic/religious connections. In other words, it’s old-school.
There is a little bit of revolving door, as well. For example, I suspect that the “cream” of the special forces are often given an opportunity to “retire early” and enter the employ of superlatively powerful people… at a much higher rate of pay, of course. The key resume item required, though, is that the individuals in question be made-men. Straight-laced, “duty to God and country”-types (which there are many in the special forces) … need not apply. Of course, they call you, you don’t call them.
In the reverse direction, I think that the criminal elements are sometimes pulled in to assist superlatively powerful people in constructing complex criminal operations, like 9/11. How and when do you short the stocks of the airlines when you know that a major event is going to happen on X date? Best person to ask is someone who’s been to jail for insider trading and other complex paper crimes. How do you make sure that everyone has blood on their hands once the dust settles? Again, the best people to ask are organized crime types who only deal with others who have equal guilt on their hands. For example, watch a video showing all the top Bush administration officials pre-Iraq invasion claiming with 100.00% certainty that there are WMDs in Iraq. Then, look at their faces talking about it after it became clear there were no WMDs whatsoever in Iraq. Their facial expressions are fallen, defensive, apprehensive. Somebody’s getting led around by the nose.
The Rothschilds are not superlatively powerful. The family, as a whole, is definitely very rich. But you have to keep in mind that they are bankers, first and foremost. That’s what they specialize in. They might have developed other aptitudes over time - particularly with their involvment in Zionism and the birthing of the State of Israel - but they are newcomers to the game of ruling, relative to the European Elites.
In my opinion, superlative power is primarily held by the royal families of Europe (that still have one or more sitting monarchs) and perhaps some other royal families outside of Europe (it’s hard to tell how completely colonialism has succeed in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere), the Vatican, some in the merchant class (e.g. the Rothschilds, Rockefellers, etc.)
The thing is that power is multi-faceted. Everything from your heredity to your social connections to your sexual habits to your past misdeeds of youth, and so on, potentially count in the struggle for power. Can you command respect from other powerful people? Well, if you’re nouveau riche, maybe not. Or if you’re of the wrong ethnic background. Or if you were exposed for some misdeed when you were young. And so on. OK, so you have a political movement. Can you handle mafia threats? If not, you’re not very powerful. OK, so you have organized criminal connections and you have a political movement. Could you be invaded by the Pentagon at will? Again, you’re still not that powerful.
Clayton -