Research reveals concentrated network of global corporate control

A network study has identified a highly interconnected 'super-entity' of financial institutions that controls approximately 40% of the economic value of all transnational corporations. Based on data from the Orbis database, researchers analyzed 43,060 transnational corporations across 116 countries, tracing ownership chains through a network of approximately 600,000 entities.

The study, which examined ownership links as of 2007, revealed a dense core of 1,318 companies. Within this core, each key member was connected to roughly 20 others, with about three-quarters of the ownership of these key firms held by other key firms. This structure creates a cycle of ownership where control flows upward, concentrating power within a small, highly interconnected group of institutions.