'Squid Game' creator reveals real billionaires behind VIPs

Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Netflix's global hit "Squid Game", revealed that the show's shadowy VIPs were inspired by real-world oligarchs and tech billionaires who, in his view, no longer hide their grip on power.

In an interview with Time, Hwang explained that Season 1's masked VIPs, who watched desperate contestants fight to the death for money, were meant to reflect the invisible elite. But in Season 3, he says, the masks come off — literally and figuratively.

"In the past, power was hidden behind curtains. Now, especially in America, billionaires openly show they run the system," Hwang said. "They no longer pretend."

While no character is based on a single person, Hwang acknowledged that figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump began to resemble his creations as the story evolved. "Musk is everywhere now. He's a showman. Some VIPs remind me of him," he noted.

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Hwang also drew from personal and global events — including South Korea's political unrest, the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2021 US Capitol riots to shape the show's themes of class division, greed, and social decay.

With Season 3 on the horizon, Hwang says he's not just creating fiction anymore; he's holding up a mirror.