There really is no "were" here. They are still very much around today and there are several world leaders (both past and present) that are openly members of their local equivalents. This isn't a secret, and it's done entirely on purpose to "hide in plain sight", because any accusation levelled against them does look bad because "what, do you think they're a secret Illuminati cabal or something", but they themselves openly admit that's exactly what they are.

There really is no "were" here. They are still very much around today and there are several world leaders (both past and present) that are openly members of their local equivalents. This isn't a secret, and it's done entirely on purpose to "hide in plain site", because any accusation levelled against them does look bad because "what, do you think they're a secret Illuminati cabal or something", but they themselves openly admit that's exactly what they are.