The Round Table Groups were founded in London in the late 19th century by South African diamond baron Sir Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes, (who had connections to high level Freemasonry) founded the groups as a way of preserving and advancing the interests of the British Empire worldwide. They function as a collection of small discussion groups, one in every major capitol city, answerable to a head quarters in London. There are many conspiracy theories surrounding this organisation, as the groups functioned and still function today very much in secret. Powerful figures in international politics, finance, media and commerce, such as representatives from the Rockefeller, Morgan and Rothschild families are said to hold membership, giving the society potentially enormous power if true. It is also said by theorists that the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the Bilderberg Group and the Club of Rome are all fronts for this group, whose ultimate aim is the creation of a sinister capitalist New World Order police state. Others say that it itself is a front for the Bavarian Illuminati.