It sounds to me like you have read The Creature From Jekyll Island, about the birth of the Federal Reserve. It was established not by the passage of legislation by Congress nor by executive order from the President. Just the richest families in the world sitting in one room talking about pooling their resources together rather than beating each other over the head in head-to-head competition, which was costing them all money. They decided that making the pie bigger amongst themselves and shutting out anyone else would be a better way to go.