The 10 firms that rule the world A significant portion of the global economy flows into the hands of a small group of financial institutions—that much we’ve known for some time. But in a new paper, flagged by the New York Times’ Economix blog, Stefania Vitali, James B. Glattfelder and Stefano Battiston name names. Using a methodology based on “ network topology,” the Swiss researchers identify which financial actors are at the core of the global economy. Top 10 network control-holders 1. Barclay’s (Great Britain) 2. The Capital Group Companies (U.S.) 3. Fidelity Investments (U.S.) 4. AXA (France) 5. State Street Corporation (U.S.) 6. JP Morgan & Chase (U..S) 7. Legal & General Group (Great Britain) 8. Vanguard Group (U.S.) 9. UBS (Switzerland) 10. Merrill Lynch (U.S.) [Washington Post]