Old aristocracies that ruled the world for 5000 years are dead or dying. King Farouk of Egypt, a serial playboy, lamented in 1952 "soon only 5 kings will be left in the world - the kings of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and the king of England". The Aristocracy of nobility has dwindled. Europe which was ruled by Royal families since time immemorial has almost sidelined them. The Royal families of Europe now only enjoy "non-executive" positions in their respective countries. The Queen, Elizabeth II, enjoys a great "brand equity" but after her, what? Her death would be the most disruptive event in Britain. The aristocracy of land has also somewhat diminished. Great land empires (holdings) were nationalised, truncated or just marginalized. The heir of the richest dynasty in the world, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, now lives in Turkey, far from the preying eye. His estate, Hyderabad, is embroiled in 100 family litigation cases. The great land barons of Latin America have also been cut to size. In 1910, Argentina was the second-largest economy in the world, largely based on agriculture and livestock.
We now live in an age of "talent" which is the final aristocracy. Talent begets money and power. Talent comes in many forms: business talent, innovative talent, sports talent, media talent, arts talent, academic talent, political talent, etc. The talent aristocracy already rules a large part of the world. Soon, by 2050, they will control 90% of the levers of power. The American Industrial Age, 1875-1950, created the early tycoons - the Rockfellas, the Verderbilts, the Morgans, the Cargines, the Mellons, etc. They were the early talent aristocracy. America's greatest political dynasty, the Kennedys, were political outcasts of Irish descent. But the patriarch, Joseph Kennedy, had business talent - bootlegging and racketeering. President-elect Donald Trump also comes from a "talent" background. The Sharif family of Punjab had great talent for business, which they parlayed into politics.
The Silicon Valley tech enterprisers also belong to the talent aristocracy.
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BILL GATES - MICROSOFT
LATE STEVE JOBS - APPLE
STEVE BEZOS - AMAZON
In the international sports industry there is only one ingredient that matters - TALENT. The great tennis stars of today (Federer, Murray, Serena, Sharapova) horned their talents since the age of 10 years. The cricketing greats of the world were all talent aristocrats - Hanif Mohammad, Geoffrey Boycott, Imran Khan, the Waugh brothers, etc. World-class talent has also emerged from the arts/entertainment industry. Jayalalita, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, India, had been admired by her people. Previously she was a movie star. Ronald Reagan was a grade 'B' actor. He went on to become one of the most popular presidents of the US. From the media have emerged 'talent' stars as never before. Barbra Walters, the previous owner of 'Washington Post' ruled Washington D.C. for 30 years. Rupert Murdoch of the News Corporation thinks he is the most powerful man in the world; he is not far wrong. A certain media house in Pakistan, for example, thinks it is its right to nominate the Prime Minister and his government.
The Vatican is one of the few institutions left in the world based on 'old world' hierarchies. It is most powerful non - military organisation in the world.
In Pakistan, in 1947, Karachi become the talent capital of the country. The Settlers, (I don't use the word Mohajir) who came brought talent. The Parsees, Khojas, Ismailis, Bengali, Urdu-speaking, Rohingyas, etc. These talented people made breakthrough in business, infrastructure, medicine, academia and arts, etc. Lahore had very little talent. It was in the hands of the Chaudhrys, the Maliks and the Khawajas - the preservers of status quo. Pakistan's greatest institution, the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) are talent organisations. The officers who rise to the General level do so entirely on merit. It may be a contradiction in terms, but the only democratic institution in Pakistan is the Armed Forces.
(The writer is the former Executive Director of the Management Association of Pakistan)