Oligarchic World Order

Today, some 64 heads of state or government are oligarchs, leading countries that together account for some 60% of global GDP. The question is thus no longer whether oligarchs will rule the world, but rather what kind of world they are building. BALTIMORE/BOGOTÁ—For most people, the word “oligarch” conjures images of Russian elites who amassed huge fortunes in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse or, more recently, the tech billionaires who filled the front row at US President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. But oligarchs are global, systemic, and increasingly entrenched. They are a defining feature of the emerging world order.