Global elite power over people

Sandra Navidi’s skilful, illuminating account with both professional and personal insights into the Global financial system and the human networks that reinforces it.  Super Hubs takes the lid off the financial barons, their elite networks and their human endeavour which rules our economic system and the society. In the last chapter, she explains the “monoculture”, its isolation from the rest of the society and its fragility is responsible for these ruptures, leading to a major crisis in the future.”

Next week, at Global Merchants’ ball in Switzerland, over 3000 business leaders, politicians and others will gather to rub shoulders with famous and notorious names and might meet a world leader or boss of multinational or an oil baron. The past year has been tough on liberal global elite with the UK’s Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election as US president against all odds, are slaps in the face.

You may be astounded at receiving an invitation for the Global merchants’ ball, “The world economic forum” in Davos. We are under democracy as George Orwell said in Animal Farm “All people and equal but some are more equal than others”. These elites and their Networks rule our world, irrespective they win or lose the elections In this ball there will be somebodies and nobodies but some are more some bodies than others. The Invitees wear badges different colours to identify their status, with today’s baker, candle-stick maker and ironmonger, the working press, market out in lowly orange. You could chinwag with Bill Gates or private equity billionaire Steve Schwarzman, or  Jack Ma of  Alibaba, Shen Guo Jun of Intime, Mukesh Ambani whose net worth £15.bn (US$18bn), Dilip Shanghvi or Hinduja and exchange pleasantries.

Sandra Navidi in her annual pilgrimage in Superhubs wrote: “ At the coat check I replaced my messy boots with elegant dress shoes, I ran into Larry Summers former Treasury Secretary.”

She was also invited to a chalet party hosted by Oleg Deripaska, the Russian aluminium tycoon, where she had top class champagne, vodka with Russian Caviar.

She also gate-crashed the Deripaska party in Davos, she was asked what she was doing there talking billionaires to which she said “ I am a translator”.

Prime Ministers do fly in by helicopter to mingle briefly and deliver their messages to the elite. Here economist, bankers, brokers, lawyers translators and consultants as lower trade barriers have led to deals being done in unfamiliar places

Navidi likes to strategically position herself close to “superhubs” who are powerful individuals, mostly male with a high degree of emotional flair, charisma and intelligence, who convert their extraordinary connections for tremendous actionable advantages.

One evening in Davos, she met Vladimir Putin Russia’s president and teased him about his control of energy supplies to Germany, but he did not share the same sense of humour.

Then she met Billionaire hedge fund honcho George Soros and his political connections that provided him vital information before he made a fortune by shorting Pound Sterling in 1992.

The high society parties, one of which, where the powerful came to Soro’s third wedding to “celebrate this joyous occasion and reinforce existing social bonds” and the Long Island reception hosted by the Journalist and heiress Lally Weymouth, and outsiders are only accepted if they bring something useful, interesting and entertaining to the table.

Superhubs: How the Financial Elite and their Networks Rule our World by Sandra Navid Nicholas Brearley £20/ $29.95, 520 pages