As a teenager he dropped out of high school to join a rock band but went on to business success and became the rare politician respected by all parties. Twice elected Repubican governor of Utah he was last year appointed as america’s all-important ambassador to China by democratic President Barack obama. It seems only natural Huntsman has the White House in his sights yet he is marked by one distinction that makes his ascendancy all the more remarkable: he is a mormon. The religion, long vilified for its advocacy of polygamy, has moved from the periphery of Us society to its very heart. a close-knit network has spread its influence across every aspect of life and is reaching across the globe. They are nicknamed The mormon mafia. Its followers are taking over the corridors of power on Wall street, heading companies in the Forbes 500 and have already made a bid for the White House. “You’ll find mormons in many board- rooms wielding influence and shaping society,” says one leading mormon businessman. “We’re trained for success.”

In the last Us presidential election one leading Republican contender was mormon business magnate mitt Romney, expected to run again in 2012. Us senate democratic majority leader Harry Reid is also mormon, as is top hotelier Bill marriott. The CIa actively recruits mormons, who pass the mandatory drug and alcohol tests with flying colours, and mormon captains of industry abound at Harvard Business school, where former dean Kim Clark was also mormon. Mormons used to be seen as disturbingly strait-laced, their women stepford Wives churning out squeaky- clean broods like the osmonds. Yet the face of mormonism is changing, with many becoming democrats. almost 200 years since convicted fraudster Joseph smith supposedly received the word of God from angel moroni in a book of golden plates, mormons have embraced the american dream and are making a great success of it.

There are mormon celebrities: Katherine Heigl, the star of raunchy film comedy Knocked Up and TV drama Grey’s anatomy; amy adams, oscar-nominated for playing a nun in doubt; and Twilight series author stephenie meyer. But while mormons account for less than two per cent of the Us population they have had a huge impact. many attribute their success to the tenets of mormon faith: no alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and embracing family values. These make them ideal employees, while the faith’s requirement for their young to undertake a two-year mission spreading the word abroad equips them to grab life by the horns.

“When you’re selling religion door-to-door,” says one mormon hedge fund-manager, “it makes every other enterprise easier in comparison.” dave Checketts, former Ceo of madison square Garden Corp, says: “In business situations we are well prepared and we go in undaunted. I don’t know if this is unique to the mormon culture but we are individuals who have a mission.” On Wall street the hiring chief at Citigroup is mormon. so is his counterpart at Goldman sachs, where 31 graduates of mormon college Brigham Young University are working. Followers are staking their claim across america’s business world, having already made their religion – formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints (Lds) – one of the world’s wealthiest.

The church is worth an estimated $30 billion, compared with the mere $6.6 billion of the Church of england. Though not as wealthy as the Catholic Church the LDS has 45 times fewer followers. But not for long. Experts forecast global membership could rise from 13 million to 267 million by 2080. David Neeleman, the multi- millionaire founder and CEO of airline JetBlue, is typical of the new breed. A frenetic 44-year-old with nine children and proud to have baptised 200 converts while doing his missionary work in the slums of Rio de Janeiro as a youth, he credits his success to his Mormon training.

“My missionary experience obliterated class distinction for me,” says the boss who now has no first class on his planes. “I learned to treat everyone the same.” US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr admits that he might not have his prestigious posting if not for elders teaching him Mandarin before sending him on his mission to Taiwan 30 years ago. “It’s akin to the experience in the foreign service or the military,” says Huntsman. “You learn to live a regimented lifestyle, you learn a language and how to deal with people.” During a missionary posting all contact with family is banned except for phone calls at Christmas