Rentiers, capitalists living on the income from securities such as stocks (shares) and bonds, the most parasitic stratum of capitalists who are estranged from production. In Lenin’s words, they are " people... whose profession is idleness" (V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 22, p. 277). As capitalism develops, their number grows because the organisation of production and the management of enterprises are increasingly put into the hands of hired specialists. This is especially the case in the era of imperialism when export of capital is growing. States which export capital on a large scale and gain huge profits from exploiting the people of the countries to where it is exported also act as rentiers. The robbery of peoples in other countries by rentier states is a manifestation of the increasing decay and parasitism of modern capitalism, and leads to the intensification of its contradictions. Today rentier states are taking advantage of the economic problems of the developing countries to try and institute new forms and techniques of colonialism (see Neo-colonialism) that will perpetuate the dependence and exploitation of the people of these countries. Before World War I, the largest rentier states were Great Britain, France, the USA, and Germany; since World War II, the USA has far outstripped the others.