Civil Servants

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Some civil servants are extremely powerful. Take the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan in Canada:

The OTPP maintains a prominent role as one of Canada's largest investors, owning investments across Canada. Through its fully owned subsidiary Cadillac Fairview, the OTPP owns properties including the Toronto-Dominion Centre, Toronto Eaton Centre, and the Rideau Centre in Ottawa. Through its investment arm, Teachers' Private Capital, the OTPP owns or has interests in companies such as Bell Canada (BCE), Samsonite, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Maple Leaf Foods, Parmalat Canada, Doane Pet Care, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Worldspan. In 2006 it acquired a 20% stake in CTVglobemedia.

Meaning it owns one of Canada's largest financial complexes, two of the largest malls in Canada's capital and Ontario's capital, the largest sports team in Ontario, one of the largest food companies in Ontario, stakes in one of the largest drug store chains in Ontario, and a fifth of Canada's most reliable newspaper and one of the largest private television networks in Canada. And more.

EDIT: That's another thing - high ranking civil servants usually have political/administrative power as well.