Richistan, Robert Frank
Richistan, Robert Frank
1 Rating(s)
List: $16.99 | Sale: $11.89
Club: $8.49

Richistan
A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich

Author: Robert Frank

Narrator: Dick Hill

Unabridged: 7 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/19/2007

Synopsis

Full of captivating profiles and expert insights into the lives and lifestyles of the nouveau riche, Richistan tells the real story of a new gilded age. The recent explosion of wealth has created a new breed of multimillionaires. Ed Bazinet, for example, who turned miniature ceramic villages into a $250 million fortune. Or Tim Blixseth, who became a billionaire by trading remote stretches of timberland. Richistan takes readers inside a rarified world to see how these blue-collar-workers-turned-billionaires are earning, spending, and living.

From "Butler School," where domestics are specially trained to serve the newly wealthy, to self-help groups for coping with the strains of $10 million incomes, you'll discover how the nouveaux riches learn to be riche. In addition, Frank investigates where their money is going. With so much in the hands of so few, the personal whims of the extremely wealthy can make or break charities and research foundations. Will they support cancer research or the arts? Supernatural exploration or archaeological digs? The influence wielded by the newly wealthy goes far beyond their fashion choices or participation in reality TV shows.

Richistan looks behind the glitz to find the real story behind new money and its impact on the richest nation in the world.

About Robert Frank

Robert Frank is a senior special writer at the Wall Street Journal, where he writes a weekly column and daily blog called The Wealth Report. He has been with the Journal for 13 years, with postings in Atlanta, London, Singapore, and New York, and was part of a team that won an Overseas Press Club Award in 1998 for its coverage of developing economies. Robert lives in New York with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Naeem on September 10, 2022

There ought to be a way to give a book two scores. If there were I would give this both a 2 and a 4. I have been looking for a book that would update things I read in the 70s; books that emerge from the C. Wright Mills school of political economic sociology. For example, Mills' Power Elite, Domhoff......more

Goodreads review by Murtaza on December 12, 2020

A well-written if underwhelming tour of the lives of America's gilded class. The book is dated for having been published over a decade ago and indeed right before the calamitous 2008 financial crisis. Frank doesn't engage the question of whether it is ethical or spiritually healthy for anyone to acc......more

Goodreads review by Emily on June 03, 2008

You know...I enjoyed the book, but not in the way that I expected. I thought I would be like, "Wow, that would be so awesome to be rich. I would do that and this and that!" But instead I kinda felt bad for these people. Ok, I didn't really enjoy the feeling bad part, but I enjoyed thinking "Hey...my......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on September 07, 2020

54th book of 2020: Rich People Problems. Since 2000, the number of wealthy people in the united states has exploded. Millionaire isn’t much of a distinction, with >9m millionaires in the country at the eve of the great recession. Sure the financial crisis took a bite out of the most wealthy, but with......more

Goodreads review by Thomasin on October 03, 2009

Warning: don't read this book if you're prone to jealous tendencies. As I am. Well, that warning is probably going over board. (If you went overboard, would you want a basic 12 foot ski-boat? Or a 100 foot yacht? If you'd "settle" for the 100-footer, you're no decent member of Richistan. Richistanis......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List