Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government—and the Reckoning that Lies Ahead

Rothkopf, David

Book

Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government—and the Reckoning that Lies Ahead

An important look at the power struggle that is defining modern times, Power, Inc. also offers critical insights into how to navigate the tumultous years ahead.

By David Rothkopf

Published on Mar 1, 2012

Source: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012

The world’s largest company, Wal-Mart Stores, has revenues higher than the GDP of all but twenty-five of the world’s countries. Its employees outnumber the populations of almost a hundred nations. The world’s largest asset manager, a secretive New York company called Black Rock, controls assets greater than the national reserves of any country on the planet. A private philanthropy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, spends as much worldwide on health care as the World Health Organization.

The rise of private power may be the most important and least understood trend of our time. David Rothkopf provides a fresh, timely look at how we have reached a point where thousands of companies have greater power than all but a handful of states. Beginning with the story of an inquisitive Swedish goat wandering off from his master and inadvertently triggering the birth of the oldest company still in existence, Power, Inc. follows the rise and fall of kings and empires, the making of great fortunes, and the chaos of bloody revolutions. A fast-paced tale in which champions of liberty are revealed to be paid pamphleteers of moneyed interests and greedy scoundrels trigger changes that lift billions from deprivation, Power, Inc. traces the bruising jockeying for influence right up to today’s financial crises, growing inequality, broken international system, and battles over the proper role of government and markets.

Rothkopf argues that these recent developments, coupled with the rise of powers like China and India, may not lead to the triumph of American capitalism that was celebrated just a few years ago. Instead, he considers an unexpected scenario, a contest among competing capitalisms offering different visions for how the world should work, a global ideological struggle in which European and Asian models may have advantages. An important look at the power struggle that is defining our times, Power, Inc. also offers critical insights into how to navigate the tumultous years ahead.

About the Author

David Rothkopf

Former Visiting Scholar

David Rothkopf was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment as well as the former CEO and editor in chief of the FP Group.

Recent Work

In The Media
How Bush, Obama, and Trump Ended Pax Americana
- David Rothkopf
In The Media
A Bigger Clubhouse
- David Rothkopf

North America United States Eastern Europe Western Europe Political Reform Democracy Economy Trade

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Was it Right to Boycott Eurovision?
Five countries staged the biggest political boycott in Eurovision history over Israel’s participation. With the FIFA World Cup and other sporting or cultural touchstones on the horizon, are boycotts effective?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Trump Turns NATO into a Tool of Coercion
The full list of humiliations Europe has endured since Donald Trump returned to the White House makes for grim reading. But Washington’s adversarial approach to its allies undermines its own power base.
Rym Momtaz
Paper
The French Far Right’s Foreign Policy: Big Ambitions, Uncertain Direction
The National Rally’s electoral strength, coupled with its internal fragility at a crucial political juncture, contributes to foreign policy vagueness.
Catherine Fieschi
Article
Realizing the Potential Gains of AI-Enabled Deliberative Democracy
Democratic institutions currently lack the capacity needed to govern AI-augmented deliberation in ways that serve democratic imperatives.
Micah Weinberg
Commentary
Senegal: An Island of Resilience
During our visit, we observed a democracy that has learned from its difficult past and is working toward an even more dynamic future.
Sarah Yerkes, Natalie Triche

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Was it Right to Boycott Eurovision?

Five countries staged the biggest political boycott in Eurovision history over Israel’s participation. With the FIFA World Cup and other sporting or cultural touchstones on the horizon, are boycotts effective?

Rym Momtaz, ed.

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Trump Turns NATO into a Tool of Coercion

The full list of humiliations Europe has endured since Donald Trump returned to the White House makes for grim reading. But Washington’s adversarial approach to its allies undermines its own power base.

Rym Momtaz

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella on stage during a Rassemblement National RN rally For la France du Travail in Macon in Saone et Loire France May 1 2026

Paper

The French Far Right’s Foreign Policy: Big Ambitions, Uncertain Direction

The National Rally’s electoral strength, coupled with its internal fragility at a crucial political juncture, contributes to foreign policy vagueness.

Catherine Fieschi

Visualization of technology and democracy intersection

Article

Realizing the Potential Gains of AI-Enabled Deliberative Democracy

Democratic institutions currently lack the capacity needed to govern AI-augmented deliberation in ways that serve democratic imperatives.

Micah Weinberg

wide shot of the city of Dakar by the water

Commentary

Senegal: An Island of Resilience

During our visit, we observed a democracy that has learned from its difficult past and is working toward an even more dynamic future.

Sarah Yerkes, Natalie Triche