title: Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust
author:  Darrell M. West 
description: <span class="msg-body-text-reply" id="caseCorrespondence_27182086905_text">"F. Scott Fitzgerald taught us that the very rich are different from the rest of us. Now Darrell West has taken us on a thoughtful romp through the world of our new billionaire class. At a moment when we have read both glorifications and denunciations of those with unimaginably large fortunes, West has set out to understand and explain who they are and what they do. He couples a moral concern for the cost of rising inequality with a scholar's commitment to telling the story straight. This is both an important book and a good read."<br /> E.J. Dionne, Georgetown University<br /><br />"As a free-market conservative who hopes to see more money invested in politics, not less, I disagree with many of Darrell West's attitudes and arguments. His book BILLIONAIRES is nonetheless a fresh, thought-provoking, clear-eyed view of a bitterly controversial subject, demonstrating that that the prominent participation of plutocrats in politics is a worldwide, and not just American, phenomenon. Even those who reject West's conclusions will enjoy the crisp, readable, and passionately personal style he deploys to make his points."<br /> Michael Medved, nationally syndicated talk radio host<br /><br />"In the United States and across the world, billionaires are front and center in politics -- running for office, bankrolling campaigns and lobbies, pushing policy messages. With a riveting mix of facts and stories, Darrell West tells us who these new plutocrats are, what they think about politics, and how they manuever to get what they want. West faces the tough ethical issues, too, and asks whether watchdogs can still bark at billionaires operating in secret. BILLIONAIRES is a must read for all who care about the future of democracy."<br /> Theda Skocpol, Harvard University<br /><br />"The saddest sight in American politics is a U.S. Senator begging a billionaire for his crumbs."<br /> Chris Matthews, MSNBC's Hardball<br /><br />"'Are the super-wealthy different from you and me?' asks Darrell West. Different or not, they are shaping our world, sometimes for the better (when they invent new things), but often for the worse, when they undermine democracy, use government to enrich themselves, and create a culture of social separatism and uber-success. Unless you are indifferent to this new world, you should read Wests book."<br /> Branko Milanovic, author of The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality</span>
zlib_text: darrell m. west
  darrell m. west
  reflections
  on the 
  upper crust
  
  An estimated 40 percent of global assets 
  are controlled by 1 percent of worldwide 
  income earners. With the “wealthification” of 
  politics and society, it is important to understand 
  what this concentration means for governance, 
  elections, and social and economic opportunity.  
  With rich anecdotes and personal narratives, 
  Darrell M. West goes inside the world of the ultra 
  wealthy. Meet U.S. billionaires such as Sheldon 
  Adelson, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, David 
  and Charles Koch, Rupert Murdoch, George Soros, 
  Tom Steyer, Peter Thiel, and Donald Trump—as 
  well as international billionaires from Austria, 
  Australia, France, Georgia, India, Italy, Russia, 
  Thailand, and Ukraine. 
  The concentration of extreme wealth 
  raises important questions about influence, 
  transparency, accountability, and government 
  performance. Some of the questions West 
  addresses about the wealthification of politics 
  include:
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