Rich People Rule the World

Every time I get it new job, the first thing I do is call my dad. And the first thing they ask me is: How much money are they paying you? This man’s obsession with dollars and cents is a story in the Drummond family. But his keen interest in the growth of my salary is a very good reason: Money runs the world, after all, anyway. you to have it or not. So, Drummond reckons, you might as well try to create as much as you can.

Aside from my background, WIRED’s passion for money is as obvious as it is big: We’re a multibillion-dollar business, and that happens to shape everything about how we all live. But who really owns the money? How are they using it? So what does this mean for all of us? To find out, we sent WIRED’s money-eyed reporters far and wide: From the United Arab Emirates to Denmark to Washington, DC, to wild Florida, we’ve sent far and wide to bring you WIRED’s exclusive stories about wealth and power. all around the world.

Finally, a team of editors sat down to review our list. And we realized something, when we looked at the graphics and infographics. Everywhere in the world we sent a reporter, everywhere we do technology, who has all that money? Men. All of them. Everyone. Married. One. Bill Gates, who sat down with Steven Levy to discuss his new memoir (stay tuned), has enjoyed 19 of the past 30 years on the list of the world’s richest people. Of the 30-odd crypto investors in Trump’s inner circle, all of them are – wait for it – guys. Even the young people going door to door in the Sunshine State, shilling solar panels looking to be millionaires by 30, are men.

So let me be the first to state this: There is more testosterone in this magazine than the last ten years of People’s Sexiest Man Alive editions combined. Among other things, this is a reality: 87 percent of the world’s billionaires are men, and women continue to hold the most prestigious positions in the technology industry. None of that even begins to explain the racial disparity, which paints a bleak picture. And it’s one that’s set to continue, as tech giants like Meta and Google are changing their DEI investments. At this time, a online manosphere– recently boosted by President Trump and First Buddy Musk – continues to grow in size and strength.

But I will also take ownership. At WIRED, it’s our lack of foresight and our imaginations to see what’s obvious—masculinity visible, persistent, page after page—only. In order not to be, in the past in the distribution, we decided to ask the messy and messy questions of gender in the accumulation of wealth, corporate influence, power. All of which are still, annoyingly, almost always about people with penises, commanding baritones, and head-scratchers.

Don’t get me wrong: You will enjoy this article, both in print and online. We hope you’ll learn a thing or two about how big tech money is collected and spent, and people – men – collect and spend. But from the one woman who is responsible for all the guys out there, including the ones in our pages: It may be a rich world right now, but trust me, women love money. And we are coming to get some of you.

Tell us your thoughts on the matter. Send a letter to the editor at mail@wired.com.