Darrell West's Global Billionaires Political Power Index is a ranking of the top global billionaires in terms of overall political power. There are a number of existing rankings that rate the net worth of billionaires, but no one has assessed their overall political influence globally or in particular countries around the world. Kings, queens, dictators, or authoritarian heads of state were not considered because of the difficulty of ascertaining their wealth. Gauging wealth is impossible in some places even though it is suspected that certain leaders are billionaires. Families of government leaders who have gained extensive wealth were also left out because it is hard to gauge their specific holdings.

In his latest Brookings Institution Press book, Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust, Darrell West examines the political use of great wealth, including campaign expenditures, activism through nonprofit organizations and foundations, holding public office, media ownership, policy thought leadership, and behind the scenes influence.

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