Whenever I come a new job, the first thing I do is call my father. And the first thing he asks me is: How much do they pay you? The man's obsession with dollars and cents is a common sight in the Drummond family. But his zealous interest in the size of my salary has a very good reason: money rules the world, be it You have or not. So Mr. Drummond thinks you might as well try to earn as much as you can.
My hereditary pathologies aside, WIRED's interest in money is as obvious as it is enormous: we cover an industry awash in trillions of dollars, and that industry just happens to shape the way we all live. But who exactly has that money? How do they handle it? And what does that mean for the rest of us? To find out, we sent some money-minded WIRED reporters to far-flung places: From the United Arab Emirates to Denmark, Washington, DC and crazy Florida, we cast far and wide to bring you some unique WIRED stories documenting wealth and power across the planet.
Finally, a group of editors sat down to review our lineup. And we noticed something as we looked through the concepts and infographics. Wherever in the world we sent a reporter, whatever corner of the technology landscape we covered, the holders of all that money? Gentlemen. All. Each. Single. A. Bill Gates, who sat down with Steven Levy to talk about his new memoir (stay tuned), has topped the list of the world's richest people for 19 of the past 30 years. Of the 30 or so crypto investors in Trump's inner circle, they're all — wait for it — guys. Even the young people in the Sunshine State who go door to door giving out solar panels in a desperate attempt to become millionaires by age 30 are, well, men.
So let me be the first to point out: There's more testosterone in this issue than in the last decade of People's Sexiest Man Alive issues combined. In part, that's a reality born of circumstance: 87 percent of billionaires around the world are men, and women continue to be vastly and scandalously outnumbered in leadership positions within the tech industry. None of that even accounts for racial diversity, which paints an even bleaker picture. And this is likely to continue quickly, as tech giants like Meta and Google scale back their DEI investments. Meanwhile, the online manosphere – recently encouraged by President Trump and his first friend Musk – continues to expand in size and influence.
But I also take ownership. At WIRED, it is our lack of editorial foresight and imagination to have spotted the obvious – the blatant, persistent masculinity, page after page – until the last minute. For not having decided earlier in our appropriations process to question the fraught and fragmented gender dynamics of wealth accumulation, of corporate influence, and of power. All of which, annoyingly, still belong almost exclusively to people with penises, with baritones keeping an eye on the management, and with centuries of head start.
Don't get me wrong, you'll enjoy this issue both in print and online. We hope you learn a thing or two about how the big money in the tech sector is raised and spent, and how the people – the men – raise and spend it. But from one woman in charge to all the guys out there, including the ones featured on our pages, it may be a rich man's world for now, but trust me, women love money too. And we'll bring some of yours.
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