Oiligarch

In later life, he developed a passion for playing polo and growing wine – his polo team, Labégorce, is named after the vineyard that he owned near Bordeaux. Today, his descendants form one of the most influential ‘oiligarch’ dynasties. Their company, Perenco, is a low-profile yet mammoth player in the oil industry, extracting more than 250,000 barrels a day across the globe.

Royal Dutch Shell has been an early mover in the oil-to-electrons trend – it also bought itself a utility, UK-based First Utility. The Anglo-Dutch oiligarch has also entered the retail EV charging space, following Oil companies are moving in on the electric vehicle charging space two different strategies in parallel.

Microsoft profits handsomely from its work with the oil industry and Gates has built an empire around defending intellectual property rights, actively hindering adoption of low-carbon technologies (and vaccines) in the Global South. Abramovich is a Russian oiligarch.