Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic InequalityThe concentration of wealth today in such a small number of hands inevitably created a dynamic that led to freewheeling financial speculation—a dynamic that produced similarly disastrous results in the last great age of inequality, in the 1920s. Such concentrated economic power reverberates throughout society, threatening the quality of life and the very functioning of democracy. As McQuaig and Brooks illustrate, it's no accident that the United States claims the most billionaires but suffers from among the highest rates of infant mortality and crime, the shortest life expectancy, and the lowest rates of social mobility and electoral political participation in the developed world. In Billionaires' Ball, McQuaig and Brooks take us back in history to the political decisions that helped birth our billionaires, then move us forward to the cutting-edge research into the dangers that concentrated wealth poses. Via vivid profiles of billionaires—ranging from philanthropic capitalists such as Bill Gates to hedge fund king John Paulson and the infamous band of Koch brothers—Billionaires' Ball illustrates why we hold dearly to the belief that they "earned" and "deserve" their grand fortunes, when such wealth is really a by-product of a legal and economic infrastructure that's become deeply flawed. |
Other editions - View all
Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality Linda McQuaig,Neil Brooks Limited preview - 2012 |
Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality Linda McQuaig,Neil Brooks No preview available - 2013 |
Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality Linda McQuaig,Neil Brooks No preview available - 2012 |
Common terms and phrases
American argued bankers banks become benefits Bill Gates billionaires Birkenfeld Bogle Buffett campaign capital gains citizens clients contribution corporate countries crash decades democracy Democratic early postwar earned earners economic economist egalitarian elite estate tax executive extreme inequality Federal fortune Gary Kildall global Goldman Sachs hedge fund hedge fund managers huge human Ibid income tax individual inheritance interests investment investors J. K. Rowling J. P. Morgan Kildall labor laws levels loophole massive Michael Caine million Morgan noted Obama offshore Paulson personal computer policies political private equity programs progressive progressive tax Republican revenue rewards rich richest role Roosevelt Schwarzman Senate share simply Social Security society stock options tax cuts tax haven tax rates tax system taxation there’s things tion today’s top 1 percent top rate U.S. tax United Wall Street Warren Buffett wealth workers Wyly York