I have heard/read many motives for their desire to depopulate, including:
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They simply hate the masses of people and want the world and its various riches to themselves. (But this is just too 2-dimensional for me... I think there would be just as many good-hearted elites who would be the opposite).
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They really do fear that the population growth will ruin the world. (Again, too 2-dimensional).
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They're just really THAT evil (power, greed, control, etc.). (Meh... I don't buy into the James Bond bad guy thing).
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They are Satanists and doing it to serve Lucifer, causing pain and misery in his name. (This is very plausible, but I also thing that there are many who are not evil, so I don't think the evil ones would have such an easy time of this.)
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Maybe they know something that most people don't about the earth's geological, magnetic and climate patterns, especially with relation to the sun's cycles, and they know we are approaching an extinction level event, so they are culling the population so as to more easily control it to survive. (This is also very plausible in my mind... such that everything is an absolute distraction from people learning about this--because if they did, all civil law would break down).
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A combination of the above?
Other motives?
I realize we can never know the exact motive unless it's in hindsight and we are (hopefully) looking down from heaven... but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it!
The answer is very simple. Imagine for a second you are a smart guy in ancient times, and you managed to amass some gold somehow.
Whats your biggest fear?
That someone will steal your wealth. So what do you do? You use your wealth to control the local group of strong men to help you, and eventually install them as the governing power. (I am skipping a few generations here)
Now you have wealth and you control the government. What do you fear?
The people. If the people rise up against the government, you will lose control.
You need to keep the people perpetually depending on the government, so you use your financial tools, and create problems that only your government can "solve"
This keeps spreading until you control the whole world via their governing systems.
What do you fear?
Still people. but you are running out of ideas to create fake wars and fake problems. As number of people keep growing you fear for your power base, for your ability to control the governments and the people through them.
This is where you start asking the question. Why do I need so many people? I just need enough to do my bidding, but why keep all the excess.
Then you come up with rationale - environment, religious, cataclysm, yadda yadda - but ultimately, depopulation is about keeping control of the whole world and not losing your power and ultimately your wealth.