Books About the Ultra Rich

For some reason, I've been reading (listening to really, I don't read much these days but do listen to a lot of books on CD) several books on the mega-rich -- people with hundreds of millions of dollars or even billions. Here are the ones I've covered as well as a summary of each of them from Amazon/Publishers Weekly:

• Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods (4 stars) -- While academics frequently conduct research to try to unlock the secrets of garnering great wealth, Esquire editor D'Agostino took a more direct—and more entertaining—route: he picked the 20 wealthiest neighborhoods in America and went door to door, garnering interviews with 50 very wealthy, very different individuals—including doctors, art dealers, real estate moguls and one shrimp-peeling–machine manufacturer. Many of the author's subjects confessed that they have been less motivated by a drive for wealth than a desire for a certain lifestyle, an obsession with a certain field and a need for independence, and that focus, passion and street smarts have contributed more to their success than luck or any formal training. Several of his interviewees leveraged their success through reinvestment, often in real estate, raising the question of how well their net worths have survived in the current credit crunch. While D'Agostino freely admits that his sample is far from scientific, weighted heavily to friendly people who happened to be at home when he went calling, his debut is witty and inspiring.

• Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich (4 stars) -- When Frank, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, began noticing that the ranks of America's wealthy had more than doubled in the last decade, and that they were beginning to cluster together in enclaves, he decided to investigate this new society, where $1 million barely gets you in the door. The Richistanis like to consider themselves ordinary people who just happen to have tons of money, but they live in a world where people buy boats just to carry their cars and helicopters behind their primary yachts, and ordering an alligator-skin toilet seat won't make even your interior designer blink. But Frank doesn't just focus on conspicuous consumption. He talks to philanthropists who apply investment principles to their charitable contributions and political fund-raisers who have used their millions to transform the Colorado state legislature. He also meets people for whom sudden wealth is an emotional burden, whose investment club meetings can feel like group therapy sessions. It's only in the final pages that Frank contemplates the widening gap between Richistan and the rest of the world—for the most part, his grand tour approach never loses its light touch.

• All the Money in the World: How the Forbes 400 Make--and Spend--Their Fortunes (Vintage) (4 1/2 stars) -- Two accomplished New York writers, Bernstein (coeditor of The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything) and Swan (coauthor of Pulitzer Prize-winning bio de Kooning) delve into the Forbes 400, that august group of rich folks ranked each year since 1982 by the business magazine of the same name. Not only businessmen and women, but sports stars, entertainment figures and wealthy heirs are profiled in fascinating detail, but the authors eschew the magazine's list format for a topical taxonomy that includes "blue collar billionaires," "West Coast money," "giving it away" and, naturally, "power and politics." Among dramatic stories of cutthroat competition, outrageous spending habits, skirmishes with the law and family feuds, intriguing observations abound, such as the admonishment that "as a rule, the Forbes 400 is not for the fainthearted," but those with the fearlessness and "winner-take-all outlook" to "turn convention on its head, or destroy an old business model in the interest of a greater good and larger profits." Sidebars cover tangential topics like trophy wives, palatial homes, the small Silicon Valley town (Woodside) that's the nation's sixth wealthiest, and blurbs from the original Forbes lists. Full of colorful characters and meticulous research, this book is inspired, insightful and lots of fun.

Personally, I really liked Richistan (I found it interesting, insightful, and fascinating) and didn't care as much for All the Money in the World (it seemed pretty dry to me.) I just started Rich Like Them and I think I'll like it. But it's too soon to tell.

Anyone read any of these? Thoughts on them?

BTW, I also recently saw part of Born Rich but couldn't watch more than a half hour of it. Someone needs to tell those rich kids to get rid of their potty mouths -- watching it was vulgar, and certainly didn't make me feel good about the people on the screen.

Comments

[David Nofsinger]

I find it funny that the book "Rich Like Them" centers more around the need for a certain lifestyle than to be rich.

I do have to say, however, it doesn't surprise me that formal education is also not necessairily a reason for their success. I think that some successful career people have a gift in what they do.

[RAJEEV's TIPS @ Savings and investment]

Great post.. rich people have always evoked mixed reactions from reverence, pride, inspiring to sense of hatred and ean image of emploiters.. however i feel that they do inspire a whole lot of people and instill a sense of belief that if they can do it so can we... will love to read all of these..

[Eugene Krabs]

I've seen the entire documentary of Born Rich, but I somehow don't remember swearing? Anyways, what I got out of that is that even rich kids have their own issues. For example, having had a silver spoon in their mouths all their lives, they basically don't know how to survive on their own. So, even though they have money, and some financial power by extension, that money could be taken away from them, and they are ultimately very afraid of that.

Also, I just have to say that that video completely changed the way I perceive Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump's daughter. I thought she was another Paris Hilton, and perhaps she was once, but I found her to be so grounded and humble in this video, especially when you consider that she's also a trust fund baby. She said that, having seen her father's financial empire near ruins, it motivated her to want to be able to take care of herself. You go, girl!

[JD]

Richistan was a good book. The first one you listed doesn't sound appealing. First of all walking around the "richest neighborhoods" doesn't get you anywhere. I live right near Greenwich, CT which is one of the richest towns in the world but you can't get to any of the truly rich homes by just knocking on their door. You have to get through the guardhouse and gates first. There are a lot of other upper-middle class homes in Greenwich and from the description it sounds like those are the people the author interviewed. Come on, doctors? Doctors are well-off but you never see a doctor amongst the ranks of the very rich. Most doctors make low/mid six-figures and the best surgeons make a couple of million a year. Far less than a typical hedge fund manager or top trader/bankers- even in this current environment. Richistan takes a look at the truly rich, people with $50MM+. The mini-rich they talk about are people with $10MM-$20MM.