Verified answer

They're fictional bad guys from a novel. They represent the 1%, although that term post-dates the novel.

They are not fictional although there are many lies spread about them. No one really knows much about them though because they are extremely secretive. Basically there used to be a group of scientists called the illuminati that kinda came together because the church hated them.

These days everyone thinks differnet things. But the basic points are that they are a group of the super elite(some people think they become elite by selling there souls to the devil) comprising of a very small percentage of the world. They either want to take over the world or already control from a bunch of high placed individuals.