by Evan Osnos
First published 2025
National Book Award winner Evan Osnos takes readers inside the hidden universe of America's ultra-wealthy. His investigation reveals how today's billionaires accumulate more wealth than the Carnegies and Rockefellers ever dreamed of. Osnos documents the extravagant lifestyle of superyachts and luxury bunkers while exposing sophisticated tax avoidance schemes and massive political donations. He interviews Mark Zuckerberg and other tech titans about their unprecedented influence in Washington. The author uncovers stories ranging from a wealth manager who exposed an American dynasty's secrets to pop stars performing at teenage birthday parties. He visits the status-obsessed marinas of Monaco and Palm Beach, investigates Hollywood's largest Ponzi scheme, and sits in on confessions from a white-collar support group. Through meticulous reporting originally published in The New Yorker, Osnos reveals how Silicon Valley and Wall Street shape American politics. His findings illuminate the psychological distortions that drive our modern Gilded Age, where extreme wealth concentration creates dangerous power imbalances that affect every American life.
Genres: business, politics, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: expos, social-commentary
Setting: America, Monaco, Palm Beach
Period: 21st Century
304 pages · Hardcover · Scribner