What Are the Secret Societies Pulling Global Strings?

Media reports recently offered a rare glimpse into the shoulder rubbing and deal making that takes place at gatherings of Europe’s most secretive organization – the Institut International d’Etudes Bancaires. However, sensitive issues related to global policymaking are hardly the prerogative of this gilded banking society.

The influential financial forum for exchanging ideas between Europe’s most connected financiers – the Institut International d’Etudes Bancaires (International Institute for Banking Studies, or IIEB) – met for one of its biannual secret meetings in October 2023, at Zurich’s Dolder Grand Hotel, the Financial Times reported. The exclusive and secretive networking that goes on at the luxury locations of the get-togethers of the IIEB forum, which is also an elite social club where bank bosses mingle with an array of guests ranging from presidents and prime ministers to royalty, was described as more exclusive than Davos.

The history of highly influential “secret societies” goes back far into history. Sputnik has taken a look at some of these mysterious private platforms.

Skull and Bones

One of the most famous of all Ivy League secret societies, steeped in mysterious rituals and symbols, is Skull and Bones. This society of senior (fourth-year undergraduate) students at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, was founded in 1832 by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft. The club chooses 15 new members annually, with those selected referred to as Bonesmen and Boneswomen. All of the members are sworn to secrecy. Initially, it was created for members of the richest and most influential families in the United States. Many members went on to become wealthy and famous business leaders of the world, with the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers having reportedly all been members of the society. Three members – William Howard Taft, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush – went on to become US presidents.

In this Sept. 2003 file photo, Yale's secret society, Skull and Bones' clubhouse or "tomb" as it is known, is seen on the Yale University campus in New Haven, Conn.

© AP Photo / Bob Child

Bohemian Club

Originally founded in 1872 by a group of San Francisco journalists, writers, actors, and lawyers as a fellowship of those positioning themselves as “free thinkers and liberals,” the Bohemian Club went on to become one of the most exclusive men’s clubs (or secret societies) in the US. While membership lists are guarded, it is known that writers like Mark Twain and Jack London were among its early joiners, with Henry Kissinger, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and CEOs of many Fortune 500 companies believed to have been in attendance at the gatherings.

The club has a vast property known as Bohemian Grove, where the elite are said to gather once a year to socialize and share their thoughts on "running the world."

Republican presidential hopeful and Texas Gov. George W. Bush speaks to members and friends of the Charleston Rotary club during a campaign sweep of South Carolina Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999 in North Charleston, S.C.

© AP Photo / LOU KRASKY

Rotary Club

The Rotary Club (or Rotary International), was founded in 1905 as the world’s first service club. At the time, attorney Paul P. Harris met with three of his business acquaintances in Chicago, Illinois. The name “Rotary” was chosen in reference to the practice of meeting in rotation at the members’ various places of business. Now the international non-governmental association unites Rotary clubs around the world. Rotary clubs position themselves as non-religious and non-political “charitable organizations” open to everyone regardless of nationality, race, religion, or political views. There are over 46,000 of these “clubs” around the world. The main mottos of Rotary International are “Service Above Self” and “One Profits Most Who Serves Best.”

Council on Foreign Relations

Established in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), headquartered in New York City and with offices in Washington, DC, is a branch of the Carnegie Endowment for Universal Peace (added by Russia's Ministry of Justice in 2023 to the list of "foreign agents.") Specializing in US foreign policy and international relations, it is believed that its creator was the most powerful American banker, J.P. Morgan. At the time of its establishment, the US Senate had blocked then-President Woodrow Wilson’s bid to have America join the League of Nations. The CFR’s invitation-only members, which have included senior politicians, numerous secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, corporate directors and CEOs, and senior media figures, must be US citizens or permanent residents and nominated by a current member for consideration to join the organization.

The task of the council, passed off as an American think tank, is believed to be to exert “behind the throne" power to shape the world to Washington’s economic and political liking. Numerous top US government officials are thought to have been drawn from its ranks. After WW2, the council was turned into a major strategic center. Incidentally, the initiative to launch a “preemptive” nuclear strike on the Soviet Union was conceived in the bowels of this organization. Members of the council have included many Pentagon and NATO generals, as well as top figures from the CIA and other intelligence agencies. This same council has included such ideologists as Allen Dulles (from 1933 to 1944 - secretary of the council, from 1945 to 1950 - president of the council), Zbigniew Brzezinski (director of the council from 1972 to 1977), Henry Kissinger (board director from 1977 to 1981), and Richard Pipes.

Bilderberg Club

The secretive Bilderberg Club is an annual off-the-record meeting of North American and European elites established in 1954. It takes its name from the Hotel de Bilderberg in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands, where its members first convened at the invitation of Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. The enigmatic Polish scholar Jozef Retinger was one of its founders. The aim was to bring closer the elite of North America and Western Europe beyond the political spotlight, offering a "debating society" venue. The organization consists of at least 150 members who are invited by its "steering committee." The forum brings together analysts, politicians, financiers, and intellectuals. One third of the club's members are North Americans, the rest are Europeans. Since the location, participants, and topics of discussion were kept under wraps, conspiracy theories swirled, claiming that the Bildelberg Group is a ‘shadow world government’ that rules the world.

Club of Rome

The Club of Rome was founded at Villa Farnesina in Rome in April 1968 by Aurelio Peccei, an Italian industrialist, and Alexander King, a Scottish scientist. Scientists, political and public figures come together to brainstorm all manner of tactics and strategies here.

Trilateral Commission

The US Council on Foreign Relations played a fundamental role in the formation of the Trilateral Commission in 1973 at the initiative of the Bilderberg Club. The idea of such an organization was articulated by Brzezinski in his book Between Two Ages: America's Role in the Technetronic Era.

Its name “Trilateral Commission” reflects the fact that from the very beginning, it was conceived as an organization in which “the best minds in the world” (as per its founder David Rockefeller), representing the US, Western Europe, and Japan (now including all of Asia Pacific) could discuss problems and "decide the fate of the world." President of Chase Manhattan Bank David Rockefeller ( member of the Bilderberg Steering Committee and inspirer of the US Council on Foreign Relations) became president of the Trilateral Commission, and Zbigniew Brzezinski became executive director. The commission was tasked with encouraging cooperation between the elites of the US, Europe, and Japan. To best coordinate activities, three headquarters were created in Washington, Paris, and Tokyo. Today, the annual meeting of Trilateral Commission members rotates among the three regions: North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Annual plenary sessions include prominent politicians, bankers, and directors of major enterprises, acting as an 'advisory body' to world governments.

Club of Budapest

The Club of Budapest was founded in 1993 by Hungarian-born philosopher Ervin Laszlo, a member of the Club of Rome. The idea of the club for people of the arts, literature and culture was presented as a “democratic” venue for thrashing out “a new way of thinking” to face 21st century challenges. Its touted goal is to create “global cultural consciousness.” It boasts branches in 17 countries.

World Economic Forum

The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in Davos, Switzerland, is renowned as an exclusive club for the rich and powerful. The WEF has been led since its founding in 1971 by 82-year-old Swiss economist Klaus Schwab, author of The Fourth Industrial Revolution and COVID-19: The Great Reset.

The international non-governmental and lobbying organization typically holds its most highly-anticipated event annually at the Swiss alpine resort town of Davos. Gaining entry to the Davos event reportedly costs about $28,000.

While the WEF is touted by some as a platform for decision-makers to discuss global problems, the growing chorus of critics has slammed the forum for an alleged lack of financial transparency, and for turning into a technocratic globalist elitist club seeking to dictate rules for the rest of the world. In 2023, several of the world's most influential leaders opted to skip the WEF, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and US President Joe Biden.

Even the notorious influential philanthropist George Soros, a 93-year-old billionaire who has been a key figure of Western soft power campaigns for decades, spending vast sums of money to help install US-aligned political leaders in Eastern Europe, also skipped the event due to an unspecified “unavoidable scheduling conflict.”