Al Qaeda Mag Urges Attack on Koch Brothers, Buffett, Bloomberg - NBC News

Warren Buffett RICK WILKING / Reuters

The slickly produced magazine article begins with a photo illustration showing blood-spattered pictures of several of the leaders next to a dripping gun. Its stated goal is to derail the "revival of the America Economy."

The article says the "economic personalities" and "wealthy entrepreneurs" can get off the list by withdrawing their money from U.S. banks, investing their wealth outside American soil, and denouncing support for Israel.

Evan Kohlmann of Flashpoint Intelligence, an NBC News counterterrorism analyst, said that while much of the magazine's content is "somewhat aspirational," it has also played a role in actual plots.

"There is compelling evidence from the Boston Marathon bombings and other various thwarted terror plots that homegrown jihadists have specifically looked to the magazine for guidance on what targets to attack — and have taken that advice quite literally," he said.

Inspire magazine is published online by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was once edited by American-raised jihadi Samir Khan, who was killed in 2011 drone attack along with cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

It's best known for an article titled, "How To Make A Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom," which provided a recipe for explosives.

Bill Gates Nati Harnik / AP

This is at least the second time U.S. financial leaders have been named as targets by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Inspire 13, issued in late December 2014, also included Bernanke and Gates as potential targets.

A senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News that the article is an example of al Qaeda's newfound focus on lone-wolf attacks, taking a page from from ISIS' strategy book.