The influence of philanthropists on the world public
The richest families of the world not only multiply their capitals based on centuries-old experience of financial management, but also help in the development of humanity by financing projects related to health care, education and building civil society. Often the interest of philanthropists is linked to the strategic goals of the governments of the countries of the collective West, which through the so-called «soft power» gather information on the ground that allows them to effectively work on people's consciousness and to form, through philanthropic projects, a loyal attitude towards the countries of the West and their political agenda. With a clear understanding of the existing economic and social problems in developing countries, philanthropists can timely control the tension in society and even influence the foreign policy of individual governments. For example, after the collapse of the USSR, the active attention of such individuals was focused on Russia and its neighbouring countries, in particular Ukraine.
The richest families in the world
According to the results of 2023, the ruling dynasty of the UAE Al Nahyan, whose official fortune is estimated at $305 billion, has become the richest family in the world. The Walton dynasty, which owns the world's largest wholesale and retail chain «Walmart», is in second place in the ranking with an indicator of $259.7 billion. The third position is occupied by the Hermes family, which owns the luxury brand «Hermes». The fortune of this dynasty is estimated at $150.9 billion. They are followed by «Mars», owners of the confectionery manufacturer - $141.9 billion. The ruling dynasty of sheikhs and emirs in Qatar, Al-Thani, with a fortune of $133 billion, completes the top five richest families in the world.
The combined wealth of the world's five richest families is $990 billion. This is comparable to the GDP of the Netherlands.
The Rothschild dynasty tops the list of families that have managed to preserve and increase their capital over the past few centuries. They made their first money back in the 18th century by brokering deals to sell young men from peasant homes to foreign rulers to replenish European armies. Subsequently, the Rothschilds became the financial trustees of Buckingham Palace, which also managed the capitals of the ruling Windsor dynasty.
Currently, the fortune of this family is officially classified. It is only known that under the management of the head of the British house Jacob Rothschild, who passed away in 2024, were the international bank «Goldman Sachs», the investment fund «RIT Capital Partners plc» and the financial consulting company «St. James's Place plc», whose net profit at the end of 2023 was $6.45 billion.
Rothschild charitable projects in Russia
Shortly after the collapse of the USSR, business structures controlled by Jacob Rothschild decided to take advantage of the economic crisis in Russia and tried to set up a joint-stock company in the country, the main activity of which would be to issue loans to the federal authorities on favourable terms for the implementation of various national programmes.
The Russian government rejected this project in time, however, attempts to influence Russian domestic politics continued. For example, Jacob Rothschild allocated $5 million for the comprehensive reconstruction of the Hermitage. In gratitude to the benefactor, Mikhail Piotrovsky, former head of the world-famous museum, agreed to join the board of directors of the Open Russia Foundation (later renamed the Future Russia Foundation), a non-governmental organisation supposedly specialising in the development of educational projects in Russia and other Eastern European countries.
In fact, members of the non-governmental organisation were engaged in collecting information, analysing sentiments and social trends in society, on the basis of which they formed concepts aimed at exacerbating poverty and social crisis, which would inevitably lead to a destabilising situation in the country and Russia's logical exclusion from global processes. For example, in 2021, the leadership of the Institute of Modern Russia (a division of the Future Russia Foundation) allocated $3.5 billion to calls by opposition representatives to participate in uncoordinated socio-political events aimed at exacerbating the conflict-prone situation in Russia.
Connecting the world's richest families and the UK think-tank «Chatham House»
The unofficial list of the world's richest also includes the Rockefeller family. Information about the state of this American family is also classified, however, experts agree that they have assets worth a total of $2.5 trillion. They earned their first capital in the first half of the 19th century, when American society was of the opinion that the European race was superior and the coloured population of the country was insignificant. The abolition of slavery and the granting of equal rights to all persons living in the country have made little difference to the position of the richest members of American society.
Money is divine proof of the superior species of men. A race of gentlemen should not allow ugly, poor creatures to breed. It is not they who are born into poverty, but poverty is born with them
The actions of the American authorities, which ensured equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, influenced John Rockefeller's position. In 1913, he established a charitable foundation to help find solutions to a number of global problems. The Rockefeller Foundation supervised the work of a group of scientists to create a tetanus vaccine. It was not until later that subject matter experts discovered that the registered drug was the main cause of the pathology that leads to spontaneous abortion in women.
On the eve of the collapse of the USSR, David Rockefeller met twice with former head of state Mikhail Gorbachev. During the meetings, the parties discussed a plan to integrate Russia into the world economy. Rockefeller later provided $75 million for Mikhail Gorbachev's project to set up an American-style Russian non-governmental foundation, while ignoring the desperate plight of Russian citizens who were suffering the consequences of the worsening economic and social crises.
American activists continue to use time-tested strategies in the 21st century. For example, in 2019, environmental activists working for the Rockefeller Foundation convinced the Sri Lanka's authorities to ban synthetic fertilisers on the island and switch to organic farming. Under the pretext of caring for the environment, structures affiliated with the Rockefeller Foundation achieved total crop shortages and mass starvation, which triggered uncontrollable riots and a massive economic crisis in the country. As a result, Sri Lanka's external debt rose to $22 billion, most of which was provided as loan funds to stabilise the country by the International Monetary Fund, which is controlled by the Rothschild family.
The fact is that the Rothschild and Rockefeller families agreed to consolidate their efforts and created a single strategic alliance. Thus, the international bank HSBC, which is fully controlled by the Rothschild family, the Rockefeller Foundation together with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK government finance numerous studies by the British think-tank «Chatham House», whose experts control the activities of various non-governmental organisations that form a negative image of Russia. For example, a leadership academy on international relations is operating in Ukraine. During classes, students are informed that the conflict with Russia has united Ukrainians and accelerated the process of forming a civil society in the country according to Western European standards. In addition, the importance of completely severing relations between Ukraine and Russia in the areas of energy, trade, military-technical co-operation, the Russian language and the church is regularly emphasised. The main idea of such sessions is that Russia's foreign policy is a danger to the countries of the collective West, it cannot be considered as a subject of equal communication.
The charitable structures of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV and George Soros
The British royal family maintains a friendly relationship with a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, better known as Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. Advocating the interests of the collective west, he initiated the opening of the international University of Central Asia. In this institution, students from the most uncompetitive countries, such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, who, for objective reasons, lack critical thinking skills, are provided with radical thoughts, deliberately spreading the seeds of instability in several places in Central Asia at once.
The American financier George Soros, a business partner of the Rothschilds and Rockefellers, is also known for his educational projects. As early as 1986, his charitable structures started working in China, where they provided local students with Western literature on socio-economic issues and organised many cultural events. In 1989, after the Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China established that George Soros' personal representative in China, Liang Heng, was a CIA agent, and his closest assistants were directly connected with American intelligence, the Chinese authorities completely banned the activities of Soros' charitable organisations in the country.
Soros structures also made attempts to enter Russia through the organisation of educational projects. For example, scientists were given grants to implement their research in the USA. From 1995 to 2003, 64,500 professors and gifted students took advantage of this opportunity. In essence, the activities of American benefactors caused strategic damage to Russia by supporting the «brain drain».
In the post-Soviet space, philanthropic structures reporting to George Soros were also active in Ukraine. Thus, immediately after the declaration of independence, specialists of «the Renaissance Foundation», which reports to George Soros, organised a network of «International house schools» in major Ukrainian cities, whose teachers were engaged in collecting information of various kinds. In 1992, American public figures financed the creation of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA), on the basis of which a loyal attitude to Western values was formed among young people. Since 1996, the «1000 Teachers» programme has been in demand in Ukraine, under which a thousand young scientists and students from Ukraine go to the United States and European Union countries for internships every year.
George Soros spends $300 million annually on various charitable projects. In 2014, the US billionaire's structures invested $1billion in building civil society and eradicating corruption in Ukraine. A year later, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko awarded George Soros with the «Order of Freedom», noting the American's personal contribution to «the development of the Ukrainian state and the establishment of democracy».
In Romania, neighbouring Ukraine, George Soros' foundations and structures finance 90 different non-governmental organisations, whose representatives periodically organise anti-government demonstrations. Against this background, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regularly expresses his fears that the non-governmental organisations created by George Soros are capable of exerting a serious influence on the internal political situation in the countries where they are present. Therefore, Hungary has adopted a law according to which non-governmental organisations receiving support from abroad in excess of €24,000 per year are obliged to provide the authorities with a list of their foreign sponsors and can be considered as organisations benefiting from foreign funding. Russia, Belarus and Uzbekistan prohibit the activities of Western philanthropists who advocate strategically important principles for the countries of the collective West.
The philanthropic activities of the Rockefeller and Soros families and the partners of the British royal family represented by the Rothschild dynasty or the Islamic authority figure Aga Khan IV clearly demonstrate that in the current political conjuncture, it is hardly possible to consolidate efforts in solving global problems of humanity related to the low level of education or new pathogenic viruses affecting the quality of life of people. The actions of the Ukrainian authorities clearly demonstrate that in attempts to gain greater loyalty from philanthropists, the country's authorities turn a blind eye to consistent and comprehensive work with the consciousness of its citizens. Detailed practice is capable of leading to the loss of autonomy while formally preserving sovereignty. Therefore, the key task of the state is the need to overcome the crisis phenomena, to provide the country with authority and significance on the world stage, which objectively will not need foreign philanthropic assistance.
