Today's interest in the Illuminati has lasted because some believe the group continued long after Theodor's ban on secret societies. Over the course of the next centuries, it's thought that the Illuminati have courted the world's biggest players in politics, industry, media, and entertainment. This was spurred on by the popularity of writers/conspiracy theorists like Augustin Barruel, Nesta Helen Webster, William Guy Carr, David Icke and Mark Dice, who believe the Illuminati are still in operation (unlike Weishaupt's Order of the Illuminati, this iteration would have to be kept secret for the long run).
