Rulers of Fortune: A Modern Epic About Power, Greed, and the Price of Ambition

Television has no shortage of stories about wealth, power, and betrayal—but Rulers of Fortune stands apart. This electrifying series doesn’t just dramatize the battle for dominance among the elite; it dissects it, layer by layer, until what remains is a raw and unflinching look at human nature itself. Created by Ava Henderson and produced by Orion Studios, Rulers of Fortune has quickly become one of the most talked-about dramas of the year, thanks to its impeccable writing, complex characters, and haunting portrayal of ambition gone wrong.

The Premise: Power Has a Price

At its core, Rulers of Fortune follows the Delgado family, a dynasty whose empire spans banking, tech, and global energy. When patriarch Victor Delgado (played by Mark Strong) suffers a sudden stroke, his three children—Elena, Rafael, and Marcus—find themselves locked in a brutal power struggle for control of the empire.

Elena (portrayed by Natalie Dormer) is the calculating strategist, cold and brilliant, with a sense of moral superiority that masks her ruthlessness. Rafael (Diego Luna) is the idealist, trying to steer the company toward ethical sustainability, but his compassion becomes his weakness. Marcus (Luke Evans) is the wild card—charismatic, reckless, and addicted to danger.

As they each vie for dominance, alliances shift, betrayals multiply, and the true “rulers of fortune” emerge—not necessarily those with the most money, but those willing to sacrifice the most.

A Narrative Built on Moral Grayness

What makes Rulers of Fortune so compelling is its refusal to paint anyone as purely good or evil. Every character is both a victim and a villain in their own right. The series understands that power doesn’t just corrupt—it consumes.

Showrunner Ava Henderson (formerly a writer on Succession and Billions) brings her sharp political sensibilities to the script. She crafts a world where every conversation is a chess move, every smile hides a blade. Yet amid the cold manipulation, there are moments of startling vulnerability—a trembling hand, a look of regret, a quiet confession whispered in a limousine. These glimpses remind viewers that beneath the gloss of power, these “rulers” are still human, haunted by the same insecurities as anyone else.

It’s this tension between grandeur and intimacy that gives the series its staying power.

Performances: A Masterclass in Controlled Chaos

The ensemble cast delivers powerhouse performances that elevate the material. Natalie Dormer’s Elena Delgado is a revelation—icy, commanding, and devastatingly intelligent. She channels the cool control of Claire Underwood with the moral ambiguity of Lady Macbeth. Her portrayal of a woman who believes she can outthink fate is mesmerizing from start to finish.

Diego Luna brings quiet fire to Rafael, grounding the series with emotion and empathy. His scenes with his estranged father, Victor (Mark Strong), are some of the show’s best—wordless exchanges filled with years of resentment and unspoken love. Luke Evans, meanwhile, infuses Marcus with a dangerous charisma that makes him impossible to look away from, even as his impulsive choices drive the family closer to ruin.

Supporting performances, particularly from Shohreh Aghdashloo as the family matriarch Isabel, lend gravitas and heart to the story. Isabel’s struggle to hold her fractured family together while guarding dark secrets of her own adds a rich emotional undercurrent to the power plays unfolding on screen.

Visual and Tonal Brilliance

From its first frame, Rulers of Fortune asserts itself as a visual triumph. The cinematography by Tobias Schliesser is sleek, deliberate, and often symbolic. Boardrooms are lit like battlegrounds—sterile, cold, yet charged with tension. The use of reflective surfaces—mirrors, glass walls, and skyscraper windows—echoes the show’s themes of duality and deception.

Each location feels like its own character: the Delgado family mansion exudes old-world authority, while the New York offices radiate modern ambition and isolation. The camera lingers just long enough on luxurious details—the flick of a pen, the shimmer of champagne—to remind viewers that opulence and emptiness often coexist.

Composer Ramin Djawadi (of Game of Thrones fame) brings an atmospheric score that pulses beneath every scene, weaving tension and melancholy in equal measure. His music becomes the heartbeat of the series—never overpowering, always haunting.

Themes: The Anatomy of Ambition

While Rulers of Fortune may be about billionaires, its true subject is the human condition. It’s a meditation on legacy, greed, and the illusion of control. The show asks difficult questions: What does success cost? What do we owe to family, to love, to ourselves?

Through the Delgado siblings, we see three philosophies of ambition collide. Elena believes control equals strength. Rafael believes empathy equals progress. Marcus believes chaos equals freedom. Each is partially right—and tragically wrong. The brilliance of the writing lies in how it shows their moral unraveling without ever condemning them outright.

In one of the show’s standout monologues, Victor Delgado reflects on his empire, saying, “We built towers so high we forgot to look down at the foundation. Now the cracks are eating us alive.” It’s a line that resonates far beyond the fictional family—it mirrors our own society’s obsession with power and wealth, even as the cost becomes unbearable.

Cultural Resonance

Unlike many corporate dramas, Rulers of Fortune doesn’t just critique capitalism—it humanizes it. It acknowledges how systemic greed seeps into personal relationships, how ambition can masquerade as love, and how privilege distorts morality.

The show’s diverse cast and global scope also set it apart. It refuses to confine power to one culture or geography, instead showing how ambition transcends borders. From Wall Street boardrooms to Hong Kong skyscrapers, the hunger for control is universal.

What’s most impressive is how the series captures our collective anxiety about the future. In an age of economic uncertainty, environmental crisis, and digital dominance, Rulers of Fortune feels painfully relevant. It’s not just a drama about billionaires—it’s a mirror reflecting our own complicity in systems of power.

Final Thoughts: A New Gold Standard in Prestige Television

Rulers of Fortune is more than just another sleek corporate thriller—it’s a modern-day morality play, executed with elegance and depth. Its blend of emotional intensity, ethical ambiguity, and visual sophistication places it among the greats of prestige television.

Each episode ends not with a twist, but with a question—forcing viewers to grapple with their own values. Are we any different from the Delgados? Would we act more honorably if given the same power? The show’s brilliance lies in making us doubt the answer.