by Vicky Ward
First published 2014
The boardrooms of Manhattan's most powerful real estate dynasties pulse with ambition and rivalry. Donald Trump sits across from competitors bearing names like Rockefeller, Astor, and Durst, each man wielding billions yet craving something money cannot buy. These moguls who reshape skylines with their outsized egos discover that Wall Street success means nothing to the penniless WASP elite who sneer at their audacity. Ward follows these titans as they connive against each other, accumulating trophy wives, private fleets, and Capitol Hill influence while the old guard remains forever out of reach. From New York penthouses to California estates, families like the Bass, Simon, and Zeckendorf clans build empires that dwarf their predecessors, yet find themselves perpetual outsiders to true American aristocracy. The central tension burns between their role as kings of the American Dream and their desperate hunger for social acceptance from those who view their ambition as vulgar. At its core, this is a story about power's ultimate limitation.
Genres: business, american, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ambition, outsiders, rivalry
Setting: Manhattan, Wall Street, New York, California
Period: 21st Century
320 pages · Kindle Edition · John Wiley & Sons