Formed: 1832
Founders: Frederick Ellsworth Mather, Phineas Timothy Miller, William Huntington Russell, Alphonso Taft and George Ingersoll Wood
Where? Yale University in a building called the ‘Tomb’.
Why? The secret society was formed after a dispute between several debating societies at Yale.
Famous alleged members: John Kerry, George Bush, and William Taft
Feared because: Members, known as Bonesmen, use their bonds of power and influence to make their way up through the rank’s of America’s elite.
Most famous conspiracy theories: The group has been blamed for everything from the nuclear bomb to the Kennedy assassination.
Formed: 1776
Founders: Adam Weishaupt
Where? Germany
Why? To create secular societies in Europe.
Famous alleged members: Barack Obama, Jay Z, Madonna, and Beyonce
Feared because: Rumours say the entertainment and music industry have been infiltrated by Illuminati members who are using the media to brainwash the masses.
Most famous conspiracy theories: The group was broken up by the German authorities after the French Revolution, but modern conspiracy theorists assert the group survived and now operates as a sinister shadow government, directing world industry and politics as it sees fit.
Many members of the music industry are rumoured to be Illuminati members
Formed: 1717
Founders: Four English Lodges
Where? London
Why? To teach self-knowledge through participation in a progression of ceremonies.
Famous alleged members: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill, Mozart, Harry Houdini
Feared because: The all-male group has six million members across the world which are all powerful members of society.
Most famous conspiracy theories: The Freemasons designed the Pyramids, plotted the French Revolution and are keeping the flame alive for the Knights Templar.
Founders: Henry Edwards
Where? Bohemian Avenue, Monte Rio, California
Why? A meeting of the rich and powerful to escape “frontier culture” – or uncivilised interests of common men.
Famous alleged members: Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon
Feared because: The attendees claim they are there for social reasons, but many believe use the meetings for more sinister reasons.
Most famous conspiracy theory: That planning for the Manhattan Project – the world’s first nuclear bomb took place there – which turned out to be true
Former US presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon at Bohemian Grove
Founders: The Dutch royal family
Where? The Netherlands
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An armed guard outside the Bilderberg conference
Feared because: Things discussed at the group’s annual meetings are not made public and journalists who have tried to interview participants have been arrested.
Most famous conspiracy theories: The group is run by the Nazis, it is trying to impose one world government and it runs the US Republican party.
