Published
Jan 21, 2025Page count
224 pagesISBN
978-1529239102Dimensions
216 x 140 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 21, 2025Page count
224 pagesISBN
978-1529239126Dimensions
216 x 140 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Stinking Rich
Billionaires are an ultra-elite social class whose numbers are growing alongside their obscene wealth while others struggle, suffer or even die.
They represent a scourge of economic inequality, but how do they get away with it? A set of dangerous and deceptive inter-connected myths portrays them as a ‘force for good’:
-the ‘heroic billionaire’ asserts they are gallant protagonists of the American Dream gone global
-the ‘generous billionaire’ pretends that their philanthropic efforts and personal good deeds should be lauded for generosity and benevolence
-the ‘meritorious billionaire’ insists that extreme wealth is a worthy reward for individual hard work and talent
-the ‘vigilante billionaire’ claims to be able to solve the world’s biggest problems where bureaucrats and politicians have failed.
Each of these myths enables billionaire wealth and power to set us back to old-style feudalism and plutocracy.
Offering a trenchant critique, this incisive book testifies to the growing international political will to take concrete actions in supporting economic justice and democratic equality.
Carl Rhodes is Professor of Organization Studies and Dean of the Business School, University of Technology Sydney. He studies the ethical and democratic dimensions of business, the economy and work. He is author of the bestselling Woke Capitalism (Bristol University Press, 2021) and a frequent commentator for the press in publications such as The Guardian, The Times, Fast Company, Business Insider and The Conversation.
Foreword by Joel Bakan
1. The Righteous Rich
2. Money and Power
3. The Myth of the Heroic Billionaire
4. The Myth of the Generous Billionaire
5. The Myth of the Meritorious Billionaire
6. The Myth of the Vigilante Billionaire
7. Reasons for Hope
