I don't think the money is the point, it's the power and influence that the money can afford you that is the really important thing. Sometimes that will involve straightforward bribery, but most of the time it is 'soft power', i.e. a way of persuading others to do what you want. Sometimes that'll be wining and dining them, sometimes it'll involve a million or two donated to their favourite charity, sometimes it'll involve a private island and lots of discretion. Often, I would imagine, one would not even need to spend the money, just the fact you could do these things in a way that would cause your target difficulty would be enough to have them do what you want.