This book examines the people at the top of the financial pyramid in the United States, and given the widen gap between them and everyone else I thought it would be a good idea to see what their lifestyle is like. This book isn’t a gushing Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous sort of book, but one that looks at how and why this phenomenon is happening.
It is extremely well-reported – the author is a Pulitzer Prize winner twice over – with cultural insights that made me feel (as an American living in another country) like a member of a completely different species. The trends that have happened recently in wealth consolidation are disturbing. We shouldn’t look away.
Over the years my relationship with money has shifted from “get as much as you can” to “have as much as you need” – and I’ve found that I don’t need all that much to have a lifestyle that I am happy with. But reading about some of the people in this book was eye opening – they are living in a completely different world.
My only criticism on this book is that sometimes it felt like the tying together of these separate essays was a little arbitrary, but taken individually it was a pleasure to see a real investigative reporter at work.
Next I am reading The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu.
