The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has done a massive systems analyses of financial transactions to determine who really owns what. This inspired a series ar articles at Forbes:

• 2011-Oct-22 – "The 147 Companies That Control Everything"
• 2011-Oct-24 – "Retort: The 147 Companies That Run The World? They're You."
• 2011-Oct-26 – "The Four Companies That Control the 147 Companies That Own Everything"