Adam Weishaupt began the Order of the Illuminati on May 1, 1776. When he couldn't convince people to join his order, and they entered freemasonry, to recruit, he joined the Masons and used them to recruit from their membership.
By the time Weishaupt was kicked out of Bavaria for sedition, the Order of the Illuminati had grown into a large spy network. The owl of Minerva was their symbol. When he was kicked out of Bavaria, he took shelter with one of his other higher Illuminati…the duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha.
now my oh my, where have you heard that Duke's name again?
and its not difficult to imagine that they still compromise and recruit from the Masons. Recruit, blackmail or bribe. A viper in the midst of Masonry, that has taken over all its good works and sucks the money out of it. They raise millions, but they can't keep it in local lodges where the good people are. It goes up..and it goes out.