In September 2014, Darrell West published a Billionaire Political Power Index based on his Brookings Institution Press book, Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust. It examined the political influence individuals of great wealth, ranking their power based on a number of factors including campaign expenditures, activism through nonprofit organizations and foundations, holding public office, media ownership, policy thought leadership, and behind-the-scenes influence.
He has updated this index to account for billionaires' more recent election activism, campaign donations, and influence leading up to the 2014 midterms. There are several individuals who have moved up the list: Peter Thiel, Bob Mercer, Joe Ricketts, Paul Singer, Jim Simons, and David Geffen. Others have seen their rankings drop: Penny Pritzker, Warren Buffett, Peter Peterson, Donald Trump, and Alice Walton.
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# | Names |
---|---|
1 | Charles & David Koch |
2 | Michael Bloomberg |
3 | Tom Steyer |
4 | Sheldon Adelson |
5 | Rupert Murdoch |
6 | John "Joe" Ricketts |
7 | Robert "Bob" Mercer |
8 | Paul Singer |
9 | Peter Thiel |
10 | George and Jonathan Soros |
11 | John and Laura Arnold |
12 | Bill and Melinda Gates |
13 | Family of the late Peter Lewis |
14 | Mark and Priscilla Zuckerberg |
15 | Warren Buffett |
16 | Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos |
17 | Pierre and Pamela Omidyar |
18 | James "Jim" Simons |
19 | David Geffen |
20 | Penny Pritzker |
21 | Marc Andreessen |
22 | Peter Peterson |
23 | Donald Trump |
24 | Alice Walton |
View the previous version: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2014/billionaires-us-political-power-index
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Interactive created by Kevin Hawkins.