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Jackpot
Michael Mechanic
其他書名
How the Super-Rich Really Live—and How Their Wealth Harms Us All
出版
Simon and Schuster
, 2021-04-13
主題
Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social
Business & Economics / Finance / Wealth Management
Political Science / Political Economy
Social Science / Anthropology / General
Social Science / General
Social Science / Poverty & Homelessness
ISBN
1982127236
9781982127237
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=9vvtDwAAQBAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
EBook
SAMPLE
註釋
A senior editor at
Mother Jones
dives into the lives of the extremely rich, showing the
fascinating, otherworldly realm they inhabit—and the insidious ways this realm
harms us all.
Have you ever fantasized about being ridiculously wealthy? Probably. Striking it rich is among the most resilient of American fantasies, surviving war and peace, expansions and recessions, economic meltdowns and global pandemics. We dream of the jackpot, the big exit, the life-altering payday, in whatever form that takes. (Americans spent $81
billion
on lottery tickets in 2019, more than the GDPs of most nations.) We would escape “essential” day jobs and cramped living spaces, bury our debts, buy that sweet spread, and bail out struggling friends and relations. But rarely do we follow the fantasy to its conclusion—to ponder the social, psychological, and societal downsides of great affluence and the fact that so few possess it.
What is it
actually
like to be blessed with riches in an era of plagues, political rancor, and near-Dickensian economic differences? How mind-boggling are the opportunities and access, how problematic the downsides? Does the experience differ depending on whether the money is earned or unearned, where it comes from, and whether you are male or female, white or black? Finally, how does our collective lust for affluence, and our stubborn belief in social mobility, explain how we got to the point where forty percent of Americans have literally no wealth at all?
These are all questions that
Jackpot
sets out to explore. The result of deep reporting and dozens of interviews with fortunate citizens—company founders and executives, superstar coders, investors, inheritors, lottery winners, lobbyists, lawmakers, academics, sports agents, wealth and philanthropy professionals, concierges, luxury realtors, Bentley dealers, and even a woman who trains billionaires’ nannies in physical combat,
Jackpot
is a compassionate, character-rich, perversely humorous, and ultimately troubling journey into the American wealth fantasy and where it has taken us.