Download or read book Billionaires and Stealth Politics written by Benjamin I. Page and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-12-21 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look into the covert influence billionaires wield in American politics and the actions citizens can take to hold them more accountable. In 2016, when millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump, many believed his claims that personal wealth would free him from wealthy donors and allow him to “drain the swamp.” But then Trump appointed several billionaires and multimillionaires to high-level positions and pursued billionaire-friendly policies, such as cutting corporate income taxes. Why the change from his fiery campaign rhetoric and promises to the working class? This should not be surprising, argue Benjamin I. Page, Jason Seawright, and Matthew J. Lacombe: As the gap between the wealthiest and the rest of us has widened, the few who hold one billion dollars or more in net worth have begun to play a more and more active part in politics—with serious consequences for democracy in the United States. Page, Seawright, and Lacombe argue that while political contributions offer a window onto billionaires’ influence, especially on economic policy, they do not present a full picture of policy preferences and political actions. That is because on some of the most important issues, including taxation, immigration, and Social Security, billionaires have chosen to engage in “stealth politics.” They try hard to influence public policy, making large contributions to political parties and policy-focused causes, leading policy-advocacy organizations, holding political fundraisers, and bundling others’ contributions—all while rarely talking about public policy to the media. This means that their influence is not only unequal but also largely unaccountable to and unchallengeable by the American people. Stealth politics makes it difficult for ordinary citizens to know what billionaires are doing or mobilize against it. The book closes with remedies citizens can pursue if they wish to make wealthy Americans more politically accountable, such as public financing of political campaigns and easier voting procedures, and notes the broader types of reforms, such as a more progressive income tax system, that would be needed to increase political equality and reinvigorate majoritarian democracy in the United States. Praise for Billionaires and Stealth Politics “Incredibly important. The authors provide—for the first time—a clear sense of the politics and political activity of the top one hundred billionaires in America, matching what billionaires have said with what they’ve done and showing the troubling transparency gap that is critical to the evolution of policy. Billionaires and Stealth Politics is a key addition to understanding our current political reality, focused on it most significant lever.” —Lawrence Lessig, author of America, Compromised “The wealth held by American billionaires exceeds the Gross Domestic Product of dozens of countries. They exercise tremendous influence over society, the economy, and politics. Yet their impact is not well-understood. Page, Seawright, and Lacombe have given us a compelling and original piece of work on an important topic.” —Darrell M. West, Brookings Institution

Download or read book Davos Man written by Peter S. Goodman and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-01-18 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller The New York Times’s Global Economics Correspondent masterfully reveals how billionaires’ systematic plunder of the world—brazenly accelerated during the pandemic—has transformed 21st-century life and dangerously destabilized democracy. “Davos Man will be read a hundred years from now as a warning.” —Evan Osnos “Excellent. A powerful, fiery book, and it could well be an essential one.” —NPR.org The history of the last half century in America, Europe, and other major economies is in large part the story of wealth flowing upward. The most affluent people emerged from capitalism’s triumph in the Cold War to loot the peace, depriving governments of the resources needed to serve their people, and leaving them tragically unprepared for the worst pandemic in a century. Drawing on decades of experience covering the global economy, award-winning journalist Peter S. Goodman profiles five representative “Davos Men”—members of the billionaire class—chronicling how their shocking exploitation of the global pandemic has hastened a fifty-year trend of wealth centralization. Alongside this reporting, Goodman delivers textured portraits of those caught in Davos Man’s wake, including a former steelworker in the American Midwest, a Bangladeshi migrant in Qatar, a Seattle doctor on the front lines of the fight against COVID, blue-collar workers in the tenements of Buenos Aires, an African immigrant in Sweden, a textile manufacturer in Italy, an Amazon warehouse employee in New York City, and more. Goodman’s revelatory exposé of the global billionaire class reveals their hidden impact on nearly every aspect of modern society: widening wealth inequality, the rise of anti-democratic nationalism, the shrinking opportunity to earn a livable wage, the vulnerabilities of our health-care systems, access to affordable housing, unequal taxation, and even the quality of the shirt on your back. Meticulously reported yet compulsively readable, Davos Man is an essential read for anyone concerned about economic justice, the capacity of societies to grapple with their greatest challenges, and the sanctity of representative government.

Download or read book The Wealth Hoarders written by Chuck Collins and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-03-08 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, a secret army of tax attorneys, accountants and wealth managers has been developing into the shadowy Wealth Defence Industry. These ‘agents of inequality’ are paid millions to hide trillions for the richest 0.01%. In this book, inequality expert Chuck Collins, who himself inherited a fortune, interviews the leading players and gives a unique insider account of how this industry is doing everything it can to create and entrench hereditary dynasties of wealth and power. He exposes the inner workings of these “agents of inequality”, showing how they deploy anonymous shell companies, family offices, offshore accounts, opaque trusts, and sham transactions to ensure the world’s richest pay next to no tax. He ends by outlining a robust set of policies that democratic nations can implement to shut down the Wealth Defence Industry for good. This shocking exposé of the insidious machinery of inequality is essential reading for anyone wanting the inside story of our age of plutocratic plunder and stashed cash.

Download or read book Nazi Billionaires written by David de Jong and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Meticulously researched …compels us to confront the current-day legacy of these Nazi ties.” —Wall Street Journal A groundbreaking investigation of how the Nazis helped German tycoons make billions off the horrors of the Third Reich and World War II—and how America allowed them to get away with it. In 1946, Günther Quandt—patriarch of Germany’s most iconic industrial empire, a dynasty that today controls BMW—was arrested for suspected Nazi collaboration. Quandt claimed that he had been forced to join the party by his archrival, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and the courts acquitted him. But Quandt lied. And his heirs, and those of other Nazi billionaires, have only grown wealthier in the generations since, while their reckoning with this dark past remains incomplete at best. Many of them continue to control swaths of the world economy, owning iconic brands whose products blanket the globe. The brutal legacy of the dynasties that dominated Daimler-Benz, cofounded Allianz, and still control Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW has remained hidden in plain sight—until now. In this landmark work of investigative journalism, David de Jong reveals the true story of how Germany’s wealthiest business dynasties amassed untold money and power by abetting the atrocities of the Third Reich. Using a wealth of previously untapped sources, de Jong shows how these tycoons seized Jewish businesses, procured slave laborers, and ramped up weapons production to equip Hitler’s army as Europe burned around them. Most shocking of all, de Jong exposes how America’s political expediency enabled these billionaires to get away with their crimes, covering up a bloodstain that defiles the German and global economy to this day.

Download or read book Dominated By Billionaires written by Timea Tokes and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-26 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The highest bidder gets to spend the night with me. No strings attached, no funny business involved.Of course, nothing is that simple. Lines are blurred and I have to question my own morals more than once.Everyone would sway a little in my shoes, I'm sure, especially when the stakes are so high.Three billionaires want me to be theirs for the duration of our contract. Billionaires who seem to think that just because they are paying me, they can get away with everything. No rules, only the ones that work for them. I have to submit to their every whim and desire, whatever those may be.Judging by the hungry look in their brown eyes, they want it all, but I have nothing to lose anyway.But then why do I have a feeling I just stepped into the lion's den?Of course, they don't ask questions and neither do I. Their secret is going to be safe with me, and if it's up to me, the secret from my past will be safe with me, too.What you don't know doesn't hurt, right?Note from the Author: This is a collection of 3 short BDSM Billionaire Romance stories, where our resident heroine meets three handsome stranger. Although they don't know each other, they are quite willing to change that by the end of the night.Stories in this collection: Three Billionaires & MeThree Billionaires & Me 2Three Billionaires & Me 3Due to the stories' nature, expect insta romance as well as a HFN ending.Includes mature scenes, slight bondage, and dark humour. You have been warned.

Download or read book The Self Made Billionaire Effect written by John Sviokla and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2015-01-01 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover and cultivate the secret traits of self-made billionaires with THE SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE EFFECT by John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen Imagine what Atari might have achieved if Steve Jobs had stayed there. Or what Steve Case could have done for Pepsi if he hadn't left for a start-up that eventually became AOL. Scores of billionaires worked for established corporations before they struck out on their own. People like Michael Bloomberg and Mark Cuban went on to build iconic household brands. Why didn't their former employers hang onto to these people? And why are most big companies unable to create as much value as the world's 800 self-made billionaires? Billionaires aren't necessarily luckier, smarter or harder working than the rest of us - and they rarely build something brand-new. The key difference is their mindset. They redefine what's possible - and they are critical to any company looking to create massive value. The Self-Made Billionaire Effect breaks down the five critical habits of massive value-creators, so you can learn how to identify, encourage, and retain them - and even become one yourself. It will forever change the way you think about talent and business value. John J. Sviokla is the head of Global Thought Leadership with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a frequent speaker on innovation, growth, and customer behavior. In addition to working with clients, John serves on PwC's Advisory Leadership Group and Global Thought Leadership Council. He was on the faculty of the Harvard Business School for ten years and has written for Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Sloan Management Review. Mitch Cohen is PwC's Vice Chairman. During his 33 years at the firm and 20 years as a partner, Cohen has held a variety of leadership roles and served numerous Fortune 500 clients.

Download or read book Wealth Made Easy written by Dr. Greg Reid and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For far too many of us, amassing wealth seems like a pipe dream. We assume that to become a "high net worth" individual—someone who has over $1 million in liquid assets—we'd need some mysterious combination of genius and luck. But what if we could solve this mystery? Long gone are the days when captains of industry like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie dominated the economic arena. Today, the world's richest individuals are a diverse group of idea-generators who maintain a lower profile, keeping their successes—and their strategies—hidden from the public eye. What if you could speed-dial these entrepreneurs, inventors, investors, and industry pioneers and personally ask each of them to tell you the one gold nugget that made them so wealthy? Bestselling author Greg Reid did just that, traveling around the globe to meet with many of the world's most elusive, under-the-radar billionaires to crack the code of prosperity. At long last, you will have access to the wisdom of the world's wealthiest people—from entertainment pioneers to real estate tycoons—as they reveal how they built their wealth, held onto it, and continue to thrive in an ever-changing economy. Wealth Made Easy is filled with eye-opening, real-world strategies, tips, and stories that will forever redefine the way you gauge your own success … and set you on the path toward your wildest dreams. Inside, discover exclusive, personal advice from those living at the top tier of wealth, including: • Dan Fleyshman, the youngest founder of a publicly traded company • Wayne Henuset, co-owner, chairman, and president of Energy Alberta Corporation and president of Willow Park Wines & Spirits • Jules Haimovitz, entertainment executive best known for having created the Showtime, Lifetime, Sundance, and Smithsonian cable channels • Ron Klein, inventor of the magnetic strip on the credit card • Dr. Gene N. Landrum, founder of the Chuck E. Cheese concept of family entertainment • Tonino Lamborghini, founder of the Tonino Lamborghini Company and son of Ferruccio Lamborghini—creator of the world famous Lamborghini sports cars—and heir to the Lamborghini fortune • Walter O'Brien, executive producer and writer for the ScorpionTV series • Brian Sidorsky, founder and CEO of Landsdowne Equity Ventures, a highly profitable family-owned real-estate business And many more. In the tradition of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, Wealth Made Easy offers incisive, actionable advice with every flip of the page. Supplemented with useful sidebars and inspirational quotes, this book is your step-by-step guide to achieving everlasting abundance—directly from the minds of those who have already accomplished this feat.

Download or read book The Trouble with Billionaires written by Linda McQuaig and published by Penguin Canada. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The glittering lives of billionaires may seem like a harmless source of entertainment. But such concentrated economic power reverberates throughout society, threatening the quality of life and the very functioning of democracy. It's no accident that the United States claims the most billionaires—but suffers among the highest rates of infant mortality and crime, the shortest life expectancy, as well as the lowest rates of social mobility and electoral political participation in the developed world. Our society tends to regard large fortunes as evidence of great talent or accomplishment. Yet the vast new wealth isn't due to an increase in talent or effort at the top, but rather to changing social attitudes legitimizing greed and government policy changes that favour the new elite. Authoritative and eye-opening, The Trouble with Billionaires will spark debate about the kind of society we want.

Download or read book The Billionaire Raj written by James Crabtree and published by Crown. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A colorful and revealing portrait of the rise of India’s new billionaire class in a radically unequal society India is the world’s largest democracy, with more than one billion people and an economy expanding faster than China’s. But the rewards of this growth have been far from evenly shared, and the country’s top 1% now own nearly 60% of its wealth. In megacities like Mumbai, where half the population live in slums, the extraordinary riches of India’s new dynasties echo the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers of America's Gilded Age, funneling profits from huge conglomerates into lifestyles of conspicuous consumption. James Crabtree’s The Billionaire Raj takes readers on a personal journey to meet these reclusive billionaires, fugitive tycoons, and shadowy political power brokers. From the sky terrace of the world’s most expensive home to impoverished villages and mass political rallies, Crabtree dramatizes the battle between crony capitalists and economic reformers, revealing a tense struggle between equality and privilege playing out against a combustible backdrop of aspiration, class, and caste. The Billionaire Raj is a vivid account of a divided society on the cusp of transformation—and a struggle that will shape not just India’s future, but the world’s.

Download or read book Hold written by Dixie Bolt and published by . This book was released on 2014-10-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Billionaires written by Darrell M. West and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2014-09-18 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet the Billionaires: the 1,645 men and women who control a massive share of global assets worth $6.5 trillion. Darrell West reveals what the other 99.99998% of us need to know. With rich anecdotes and personal narratives, West goes inside the world of the ultra wealthy. Meet U.S. billionaires such as Sheldon Adelson, Michael Bloomberg, David and Charles Koch, George Soros, Tom Steyer, and Donald Trump—as well as international billionaires from around the globe. The growing political engagement of this small supra-wealthy group raises important questions about influence, transparency, and government performance, and West lays bare the wealthification of politics, including: • How billionaires can block appointments and legislation they don't like • Why the supra-wealthy moved into policy advocacy and referenda at the state level • Why billionaires run for office in more than a dozen countries around the world

Download or read book Rich People Poor Countries written by Caroline Freund and published by Peterson Institute for International Economics. This book was released on 2016-02-11 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like the robber barons of the 19th century Gilded Age, a new and proliferating crop of billionaires is driving rapid development and industrialization in poor countries. The accelerated industrial growth spurs economic prosperity for some, but it also widens the gap between the super rich and the rest of the population, especially the very poor. In Rich People Poor Countries, Caroline Freund identifies and analyzes nearly 700 emerging-market billionaires whose net worth adds up to more than $2 trillion. Freund finds that these titans of industry are propelling poor countries out of their small-scale production and agricultural past and into a future of multinational industry and service-based mega firms. And more often than not, the new billionaires are using their newfound acumen to navigate the globalized economy, without necessarily relying on political connections, inheritance, or privileged access to resources. This story of emerging-market billionaires and the global businesses they create dramatically illuminates the process of industrialization in the modern world economy.

Download or read book The Billionaire Submissive written by Joely Sue Burkhart and published by Entangled: Scorched. This book was released on 2017-08-21 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donovan Morgan rules his billion-dollar international company with an iron fist. But in the privacy of his bedroom, he hungers for an iron lady to rule his body. Lilly Harrison helps her clients tame their personal demons by taming them. Lots of men—blue collar to white collar—enjoy female domination. But the ultra-rich and powerful CEO is alpha to the core. In public, that is. Donovan selects his potential Mistress as carefully as a prime investment opportunity, and negotiates a contract as tight and binding as any corporate takeover. He must ensure his privacy at all cost—even if he has to resort to a little blackmail to ensure her full cooperation. When the indomitable Miss Harrison laughs in his face, tears his contract up, and walks out without a backward glance, it seals the deal. Donovan will have her. Even if she makes him crawl to her side. Each story in the Billionaires in Bondage series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed in any order. Series order: Book #1: The Billionaire Submissive Book #2: The Billionaire's Ink Mistress Book #3: The Billionaire’s Christmas Bargain

Download or read book The Billionaires and The Librarian written by Harper West and published by Harper West. This book was released on with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They'll take her romance addiction from fictional—to purely physical Lily Money doesn't buy happiness. But it sure as hell pays the bills. And for those of us without it—life can really suck. But that's okay. I'll take my 5 days a week of ramen, and never-ending overdraft fees, because I love my job. At the library, I'm surrounded by the thing I adore most—books. I've adapted to my life, come to accept it, until one rainy day changes everything. Now I'm being pursued not by just one—but two brooding billionaires. They're charming, and arrogant, and I can't seem to get enough of their touches. Something raw and carnal inside of me has been awakened, and I barely recognize myself. They're showing me just how bad a good girl can be . . . And truth be told—I'm starting to like it. Sebastian/Jake No. It isn't a word we hear often. But that's how it is when you can buy anything you want. And yet—all that wealth can't repair a broken man. Our days and nights are filled with dull meetings and meaningless women. Then she showed up. No, not showed up. She rammed into our life . . . literally. Sweet, innocent, and unlike anyone we've ever known. But there's something else there. A naughty, secret part of her, the craves to be dominated. She needs to unleash her inner brat, and we're more than happy to oblige. It'll just take a bit of coaxing. And after all, we're experts when it comes to the art of persuasion. . . The Billionaires and The Librarian is a standalone, deliciously naughty, MFM Billionaire Romance from your new favorite author Harper West. If lonely billionaire who like to dominate in the bedroom sound like your idea of a good time . . . this book is for you! Guaranteed HEA & No Cheating.

Download or read book Dark Money written by Jane Mayer and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2017-01-24 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR Who are the immensely wealthy right-wing ideologues shaping the fate of America today? From the bestselling author of The Dark Side, an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the agenda of this powerful group. In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump's victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system. Why is America living in an age of profound and widening economic inequality? Why have even modest attempts to address climate change been defeated again and again? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? In a riveting and indelible feat of reporting, Jane Mayer illuminates the history of an elite cadre of plutocrats—headed by the Kochs, the Scaifes, the Olins, and the Bradleys—who have bankrolled a systematic plan to fundamentally alter the American political system. Mayer traces a byzantine trail of billions of dollars spent by the network, revealing a staggering conglomeration of think tanks, academic institutions, media groups, courthouses, and government allies that have fallen under their sphere of influence. Drawing from hundreds of exclusive interviews, as well as extensive scrutiny of public records, private papers, and court proceedings, Mayer provides vivid portraits of the secretive figures behind the new American oligarchy and a searing look at the carefully concealed agendas steering the nation. Dark Money is an essential book for anyone who cares about the future of American democracy. National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist LA Times Book Prize Finalist PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Finalist Shortlisted for the Lukas Prize

Download or read book Winner Take All Politics written by Jacob S. Hacker and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Analyzes the growing divide between the incomes of the wealthy class and those of middle-income Americans, exonerating popular suspects to argue that the nation's political system promotes greed and under-representation.

Download or read book Brazillionaires written by Alex Cuadros and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Bloomberg News invited the young American journalist Alex Cuadros to report on Brazil's emerging class of billionaires at the height of the historic Brazilian boom, he was poised to cover two of the biggest business stories of our time: how the giants of the developing world were taking their place at the center of global capitalism, and how wealth inequality was changing societies everywhere. The billionaires of Brazil and their massive fortunes resided at the very top of their country's economic pyramid, and whether they quietly accumulated exceptional power or extravagantly displayed their decadence, they formed a potent microcosm of the world's richest .001 percent. They held sway over the economy, government, media, and stewardship of the environment; they determined the spiritual fates and populated the imaginations of their countrymen. In 2012, Eike Batista ranked as the eighth-richest person in the world, was famous for his marriage to a beauty queen, and was a fixture in the Brazilian press. But by 2015, Batista was bankrupt, his son Thor had been indicted for manslaughter, and Brazil--its president facing impeachment, its provinces combating an epidemic, and its business and political class torn apart by scandal--had become a cautionary tale of a country run aground by its elites. Over four years, Cuadros reported on media moguls and televangelists, energy barons and shadowy figures from the years of military dictatorship, soy barons who lived on the outskirts of the Amazon, and new-economy billionaires spinning money from speculation. His zealous reporting takes us from penthouses to courtrooms, from favelas to art fairs, from scenes of unimaginable wealth to desperate, massive street protests. Within a business narrative that deftly dramatizes the volatility of the global economy, Cuadros offers us literary journalism with a grand sweep.--Adapted from dust jacket.