gen X is the only generation that matters.
the jouvenelian generation.
There is a group of people who control everything. They control all the money, the media, and the culture. But you’re not allowed to talk about them. You know the one.
If you point out their obvious and blatant overrepresentation, they call you “crazy,” or a “conspiracy theorist.” But I refuse to be controlled. I’m going to tell you who controls the world.
Back in May of 2024, the ancient days, I wrote an article on how Gen X created Wokeness.1 Instead of wading through it, I’ll summarize it in one sentence:
Gen X invented wokeness.
But maybe you think wokeness ended, and we are now in a post-woke era. Well, you’re in luck, because Gen X invented “post-wokeness” too. The demographic that voted the most for Trump was Gen X.
How can Gen X be woke and anti-woke simultaneously? Simple: they are the only political generation. They generate all the ideas. Everyone else is just a spectator.
If you go to my article on Gen X Wokeness, you’ll find that even the far right is a product of Gen X ideologues. No Boomers or Millennials here.
Gen X invented the internet. They also invented populism, memes, and irony. They are the most powerful generation in history. When historians a 1,000 years from now look back, they will say, “Gen X were the ones who changed everything.”
Gen X vociferously denies that they have any power. This is because Gen X is the Jouvenelian generation: it is the only generation that denies its own existence.
Gen X is a generation with the greatest resentment of any generation. Gen X really hates the boomers. Gen X turned “Boomer” from a neutral term into a slur. This then filtered down to the Millennials and Zoomers. Any time you hear a Millennial or Zoomer blaming Boomers for something, you can rest assured that they learned this blood libel from Gen X.
According to the World Economic Forum, the generation with the greatest “Cultural Power Share” is Gen X.
Don’t believe me? Google it.
Google, by the way, was invented by Gen X.2
Gen X Invented the Internet
Before Google, we had Netscape,3 Yahoo,4 and Limewire, all invented by Gen X.5
The internet is for porn, and internet porn was invented by Gen X.6
Before Wikipedia, we had Fandom, both of which were invented by Gen X.7
MySpace,8 YouTube,9 Ebay,10 and PayPal11 were all founded by Gen X.
Twitter,12 Zoom,13 Spotify,14 Hulu,15 Indeed.com,16 and Zillow: all Gen X17
Jeff Bezos (1964), founder of Amazon, is supposedly a baby boomer, but he is an edge case.
Jeff Bezos is artificially modifying the google search results to escape the horror of being a Baby Boomer.
His mother, by the way, is Jacklyn Bezos, who was born in 1946. If your mother or father is a Baby Boomer, I think that makes you spiritually Gen X. Up for debate.
Gen X Denialists are furiously writing the following rebuttal:
Ok, so Gen X did one thing: they made a bunch of internet companies. However, that doesn’t matter at all. The only things that matter are culture and politics, and Gen X never created any culture and they don’t control politics. Internet companies are just an empty vessel.
That argument may have been true 20 years ago, but it’s certainly not true now. Gen X dominates the culture factory.
Gen X Invented Console Games
Before 1999, the most popular game in the world was Pokémon, for the Game Boy Color. The first console, the Playstation, had a popular game called Gran Turismo, which was developed by Kazunori Yamauchi (1967). With the birth of Gamecube and Xbox in 2001, the console wars began, and Gen X was at the forefront of all of it.
Fortnite,18 Candy Crush,19 Call of Duty,20 Minecraft,21 Roblox,22 Super Smash Bros,23 Skyrim,24 BioShock,25 Dark Souls,26 Grand Theft Auto,27 Red Dead Redemption,28 and the The Last of Us29 where all directed, written, and designed by Gen X.
If you’ve played any Zelda game in the last 20 years, it was directed by Gen X.
Gen X will reply as follows:
Video games aren’t culture! Real culture is a work of art, like anime and manga!
Ok, let’s look at anime then.
All Good Anime was Made by Gen X
One Piece,30 Naruto,31 Bleach,32 Fullmetal Alchemist,33 Code Geass,34 My Hero Academia,35 Berserk,36 The Prince of Tennis,37 YuYu Hakusho,38 Sailor Moon,39 Death Note,40 Zatch Bell!,41 and Soul Eater42 were all developed, written, authored, and illustrated by Gen X.
Pokemon is controversial, because the creator was born in 1965. Let me consult the crystal ball:
Pokémon exists in the superposition between Gen X and Boomers, a very powerful birth year.
Now Gen X will continue to deny:
Enough Anime! That’s not Real American Culture™.
Real culture? Like what, Harry Potter?
The most popular fantasy universe created by the Silent Generation was Lord of the Rings, and it was beloved by the Boomers.
The Boomers created Star Wars, which was beloved by Gen X.
Next in line is Harry Potter. Is JK Rowling Gen X?
Like the creator of Pokémon, JK Rowling was born in 1965, which is a special year on the cusp between Boomer and Gen X. I think she gets honorary Gen X status, because her mom was a Boomer (1945), and she is the literary queen of Millennials.
Movies, TV, Netflix:
What are the two most famous and recognizable movies of the last 20 years?
How about television series?
What about Netflix?
THAT’S SLOP, NOT CULTURE!!1
Let me present the top artistic geniuses of the last two decades:
Christopher Nolan (1970): Oppenheimer, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, Tenet, Memento, Dunkirk, Inception.
Denis Villeneuve (1967): Dune, Bladerunner 2049, Sicario.
Wes Anderson (1969): The Grand Budapest Hotel.52
Paul Thomas Anderson (1970): There Will Be Blood.
All of those directors are bad!!1
You can hate Gen X, which is fine, but it’s important to distinguish between “I dislike the domination of this particular demographic” and “therefore, this group has no power or influence.”
What about music? When’s the last time someone invented an entirely new musical genre?
EDM: popularized by Steve Aoki (born 1977), Armand van Helden (born 1970), David Guetta (born 1967).
Rave Music: Joey Beltram (1969), Gerald Simpson (1967), Liam Howlett (1970), Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (1975), Josh Wink (1970), Richard Melville Hall (1965).
Rap and Hip-Hop: Dr. Dre (1965), Tupac (1971), The Notorious B.I.G. (1972), Jay-Z (1969), Kanye West (1977), Eminem (1972), Snoop Dogg (1971), Gucci Mane (1980), Ice Cube (1969), P-Diddy (1969), DMX (1970).
K-pop: founded by Seo Taiji (1972).
Pop-Punk: Billie Joe Armstrong (1972), Mark Hoppus (1972), Travis Barker (1975),
Dexter Holland (1965), Deryck Whibley (1980), Joel Madden (1979), Benji Madden (1979), Pierre Bouvier (1979), Jaret Reddick (1972), Jordan Pundik (1980).
Emo: Guy Picciotto (1965) and Brendan Canty (1966) invented the first emo band, Rite of Spring. Gerard Way (1977) is the most popular emo singer of all time.
Grunge: The first Grunge song was made by Green River, with Steve Turner (1965) and Stone Gossard (1966). Kurt Cobain was born in 1967, and Dave Grohl was born in 1969.
By the way, what’s the most popular Christmas song?
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” - Mariah Carey (1969)
While Pop-Punk died in 2015, EDM enjoys enduring popularity in Europe, and K-Pop and Rap are more popular than ever. The primary boomer genres (rock, metal, soul music, R&B, funk, and disco) are totally dead. Gen X endures. Total Gen X victory.
Britney Spears bridged the gap between Madonna (Boomer) and Millennial Pop.
The first Millennial Pop group was New Kids On The Block, which was founded by Gen X.53 NKOTB helped establish the “metrosexual urban teen male sex symbol” aesthetic that has endured through the creation of Justin Bieber. When we think, “teen male pop star,” we are thinking of an aesthetic that began with NKOTB. It still defines the fashion choices of TikTok stars to this day: oversized t-shirt, high-and-tight fade, jean jackets, ripped and faded jeans.
Victoria’s Secret Supermodels:
While Marylin Monroe was a “star,” the term “supermodel” refers to a specific genre of modeling which was defined by tall women with thin and gaunt profiles. Marylin Monroe was 5’7”, and considered “plus size” by the standards of the supermodel.
The supermodel overshadowed and overpowered the “pin-up” girls of the Boomer era, and their style continues to exert supremacy of form on Zoomers, despite (or even because of) the protests about “body positivity.”
Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. - Kate Moss
Within the invention of the Supermodel was the Victoria’s Secret Angel, with their models being even taller on average. The top three were Heidi Klum (1973), Tyra Banks (1973), Gisele Bündchen (1980), and Marisa Miller (1978).
Also genre defining were Cindy Crawford (1966), Naomi Campbell (1970), Gisele Bündchen (1980), Kate Moss (1974), Christy Turlington (1969), Linda Evangelista (1965), Claudia Schiffer (1970), and Heidi Klum (1973).
Best Living Actors
Leonardo DiCaprio (1974)
Christian Bale (1974)
Joaquin Phoenix (1974)
Heath Ledger (1979)
Edward Norton (1969)
Matthew McConaughey (1969)
Will Smith (1968)
Matt Damon (1970)
Ben Affleck (1972)
Heath Ledger (1979) deserves a mention, despite having passed away in 2008.
There are still some boomers in the game, like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Johnny Depp, but they are way past their prime.
Best Living Actresses
Charlize Theron (1975)
Angelina Jolie (1975)
Cate Blanchett (1969)
Reese Witherspoon (1976)
Nicole Kidman (1967)
Rachel Weisz (1970)
Kate Winslet (1975)
Halle Berry (1966)
Jennifer Aniston (1969)
Julia Roberts (1967)
Because actresses tend to be valued as sex symbols, and there aren’t many 50 year old female sex symbols, this list may seem a bit dated. But I just asked AI to provide “top living actresses” and this is what it spit out. At the very least, we can agree that these are some of the most impactful and recognizable actresses still alive.
Most Famous Chefs:
Gordon Ramsay (1966)
Jamie Oliver (1975)
Bobby Flay (1964)
Rachael Ray (1968)
Guy Fieri (1968)
Architects of the Last 10 Years:
Vessel, opened in 2019, was designed by Thomas Heatherwick (1970).
Museum of the Future, opened 2022, designed by Shaun Killa (1980).
Amager Bakke, opened in 2017, and EPIQ, completed 2024, designed by Bjarke Ingels (1974).
Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, opened 2017, and China Philharmonic Concert Hall, designed by Ma Yansong (1975).
Sun Tower, opened 2024, by Li Hu (1973).
Hida Takayama University, Sou Fujimoto (1971).
Top AI Experts
Max Tegmark (1967)
Nick Bostrom (1973)
Eliezer Yudkowsky (1979)
What about politics?
Andrew Breitbart (born 1969), founder of breitbart.com, can be credited with the rise of Trump and the alt-right in 2016.
Reid Hoffman (born 1967), the richest and most prominent gentile donor to the Democrats, founder of LinkedIn, is a member of Gen X.
Elon Musk (born 1971) was the biggest donor in 2024, at $208 million.
Kenneth C. Griffin (born 1968) was the 5th biggest donor to Trump, at $105 million.
Marc Andreessen (born 1971) was the 10th biggest donor; in 11th place was his business partner, Ben Horowitz (born 1966).
Jan Koum (born 1976) came in #25 with $20 million.
In #34, James Murdoch (born 1972), with $15 million.
Obviously, the rest are boomers, and as they die off, this will only increase the power of Gen X.
What about politicians?
According to current betting odds, here are the candidates for 2024:
Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris were both born in 1964, which is an edge case. If you count them as boomers, then there is a 1% chance of a Silent Gen president in 2028 (Bernie), 7% chance of a Boomer president, a 40% chance of a Gen X candidate, and a 53% chance of a Millennial candidate.
JD Vance throws off the odds significantly, and I believe Trump chose him to balance the age of his ticket against Biden. But this isn’t reflective of Congress and the Senate.
In 2025, the average age of Congress is 58.9 years old, which is solidly Gen X. As Boomers die out, this will favor Gen X further.
What about podcasters?
Joe Rogan (1967)
Theo Von (1980)
My Favorite Murder: Karen Kilgariff (1970) and Georgia Hardstark (1980)
Andrew Huberman (1975)
The Daily: Michael Barbaro (1979)
Stuff You Should Know: Josh Clark (1976) and Chuck Bryant (1971).
Most Famous Living Comedians:
Dave Chappelle (1973)
Louis C.K. (1967)
Bill Burr (1968)
Chris D'Elia (1980)
Bert Kreischer (1972)
Dave Chappelle (1973)
Chris Rock (1965)
Kevin Hart (1979)
Tina Fey (1970)
Sports:
Most popular football player of all time? Tom Brady (1977)
Most popular tennis player of all time? Roger Federer (1981, Xennial)
Top golf player of all time? Tiger Woods (1975)
conclusion.
Gen X should be forced to wear Golden X’s on their shirt, so we can identify them and stop them from blaming Boomers for everything.
But I don’t think that would shut up the denialists.
Elon Musk even re-named Twitter “X” to signal the supremacy of his generation, and yet I am still called a “conspiracy theorist” for pointing out that these people control everything.
WAKE UP SHEEPLE!
By the way, webcomics were invented by Gen X: Penny Arcade, Dinosaur Comics, Order of the Stick, Questionable Content… It’s all Gen X! Gen X FOREVER!!!
If you didn’t catch the joke throughout this article: Gen X was the conspiracy theory generation. Boomers invented them, but Gen X were supersaturated in them, from birth, in a way that Boomers weren’t. Boomers grew up with JFK as a president; Gen X grew up with “JFK” as the title of a conspiracy. Hence, the “X Files” is a TV show about conspiracy theories. Alex Jones is Gen X. You can read more about that in my article on how Gen X Invented Wokeness.
I have a love-hate relationship with Gen X. On the one hand, they invented everything cool, like hating yourself and being an edgy neo-liberal. On the other hand, whenever you point out that Gen X is extremely powerful and influential, they deny it harder than a Nazi denying the Holocaust. It’s extremely cringe and reeks of daddy issues. “Daddy Boomer ruined my life! I was never allowed to do anything!” It’s also a painfully stupid lie that falls apart upon cursory examination.
Part of this is because, on an individual level, being the “inferior generation” is the economic lived experience of Gen X. They feel poorer than their parents. This is in contrast to the Boomers, who viscerally felt themselves becoming much richer than their parents.
If you look back in your own family history, you may find that your Silent Generation great-grandfather was dirt-poor and barely literate, and then your Boomer grandfather went to college and supported six kids on a single income, with a car and a boat. He probably also wore a leather jacket, which was extremely cool.
In comparison to the Boomers, Gen X was always going to feel inferior. The increase in American and European wealth between 1945 and 1965 was unparalleled in history. By contrast, the 1970s were an economic slowdown, and interest rates went to record highs. The economy wasn’t as good as the boom of the 1950s.
Despite this “lived experience,” the boomers are retired now. They are old. Gen X is taking over. This trend will continue over the next 20 years as Boomers continue to die off. Gen X is first in line to inherit the wealth and power of dying Boomers. It’s just math. No, the wealth isn’t going to “skip over Gen X and go to Millennials.” That’s not how math works.
Anytime someone tells you that “Gen X is a skipped generation,” just send them this article, and watch them deny it. They can’t help it. It’s in their nature to pretend not to exist.
It was one of my earlier articles, so if you think I’m bad at ending now, just imagine how meandering, stream-of-consciousness, and convoluted I used to be…
Sergey Brin (born 1973) and Larry Page (born 1973).
Marc Andreessen (born 1971).
Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang (b. 1968) and David Filo (b. 1966).
Mark Gorton (b. 1966).
Danni Ashe (b. 1968), first successful internet pornographer.
Jimmy Wales (b. 1966) and Larry Sanger (b. 1968), founders of Wikipedia and fandom.com.
Tom Anderson (b. 1970) and Chris DeWolfe (b. 1965).
Chad Hurley (b. 1977), Jawed Karim (b. 1979), Steve Chen (b. 1978).
Pierre Omidyar (b. 1967).
Peter Thiel (b. 1967), Max Levchin (b. 1975), Luke Nosek (b. 1975), Kenneth Howery (b. 1975), and Elon Musk (b. 1971).
Jack Dorsey (b. 1976), Evan Williams (b. 1972), and Biz Stone (b. 1974).
Eric Yuan (b. 1970).
Martin Lorentzon (b. 1969).
Jason Kilar (b. 1971).
Rony Kahan (b. 1972).
Rich Barton (b. 1967), Lloyd Frink (b. 1965), and Spencer Rascoff (b. 1975).
Tim Sweeney, born 1970.
Riccardo Zacconi (born 1967).
The lead designer in 2003 was Vince Zampella (born 1970). Couldn’t find info on the age of other designers, but they all looked Gen X to me.
Markus Persson (b. 1979).
Erik Cassel (b. 1967).
Masahiro Sakurai (b. 1970).
Todd Howard (b. 1970).
Ken Levine, (b. 1966).
Hidetaka Miyazaki (b. 1974).
David Jones (b. 1965) and Mike Dailly (b. 1970).
Christian Cantamessa (b. 1976), Leslie Benzies (b. 1971), and Dan Houser (b. 1973).
Bruce Straley (1978) and Neil Druckman (1978).
Eiichiro Oda (born 1975).
Masashi Kishimoto (born 1974).
Tite Kubo (born 1977).
Hiromu Arakawa (born 1973).
Gorō Taniguchi (born 1966) and Ichirō Ōkouchi (born 1968).
Kōhei Horikoshi (born 1986).
Kentaro Miura (borrn 1966).
Takeshi Konomi (1970).
Yoshihiro Togashi (born 1966).
Naoko Takeuchi (born 1967).
The artist is Takeshi Obata (born 1969). The author uses a pseudonym so his age is unknown.
Makoto Raiku (born 1974).
Atsushi Ohkubo (born 1979)
Written by Jennifer Lee (born 1971).
Created by Sergio Pablos (born 1970).
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (born 1970 and 1971).
Anthony E. Zuiker (born 1968).
Shonda Rhimes (born 1970).
Jeff Davis (born 1975).
Alfred Gough (born 1967) and Miles Millar (born 1967).
Ryan Murphy (born 1965) and Ian Brennan (born 1978).
Vince Gilligan (born 1967).
My job here isn’t to judge the art, just document the dominance of Gen X.
Jonathan Knight (1968), Jordan Knight (1970), Joey McIntyre (1972), Donnie Wahlberg (1969), Danny Wood (1969).
My Gen X wife (1971) and metal head got really upset that you said metal is dead and went on a long, and somewhat convincing, argument that you totally underestimate the enduring popularity of metal across age demographics.
As a Gen-Xer I endorse this message.
Also, i think Gen X starts in 1962 or 1963. If you were born in the sixties, don't remember the Kennedy assassination and didn't worry about getting drafted for Vietnam, you are Gen X.