9 men control the world's arsenal of nukes. 

"Nuclear war has long posed a particular threat to Washington state

Now home to the world’s largest single nuclear stockpile, the state has a tangled history with the unthinkable."  By Crosscut 

Crosscut Magazine always has great (if grim) reports about Hanford Nuclear Complex o the Columbia River in Washington State. Here is an article by Knut Berger with notes PBS's interview by  with Steve Olson, author of Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age, 

Excerpt:"In his PBS interview, Steve Olson reminds us that we could have time to possibly engineer our way out of global climate disaster, though it would take a worldwide commitment. The prospect of avoiding nuclear annihilation relies on fewer nations and leaders to come to an agreement. The world’s nuclear arsenal of some 13,000 nukes is controlled by, roughly, nine men, he observes.

That is both frightening, and possibly encouraging. Mutually assured destruction has so far kept anyone from pushing the red button. Further success depends on the nine individuals representing the nine nations with nuclear weapons, any plans they have to “update” their arsenals and how many others will seek to join them in the nuclear club." end quote

(Steve Olson praised my novel Storytellers at the Columbia River )