Includes bibliographical references (p. [325]-355) and index.

Introduction: The power elite on the promenade Each one is one in a million : meet the superclass Ceteris non paribus : inequality, backlash, and the New Order Lessons of history : the rise and fall of elites The multinational moment : when finance and business became the center of it all Globalists vs. nationalists : political fault line for a new century The Age of Asymmetry : decline of the titans and the rise of shadow warriors The information superclass : the power of ideas How to become a member of the superclass : myth, reality, and the psychopathology of success The future of the superclass and what it may mean for the rest of us.

They number six thousand on a planet of six billion. They run our governments, our largest corporations, the powerhouses of international finance, the media, world religions, and, from the shadows, the world's most dangerous criminal and terrorist organizations. They are the global superclass, and they are shaping the history of our time. Today's superclass has achieved unprecedented levels of wealth and power. They have globalized more rapidly than any other group. But do they have more in common with one another than with their own countrymen, as nationalist critics have argued? Has their influence fed the growing economic and social inequity that divides the world? Who sets the rules for a group that operates beyond national laws? Drawn from exclusive interviews and extensive original reporting, this book draws back the curtain on a privileged society that most of us know little about, even though it profoundly affects our lives.--From publisher description.