The Rich cover art

The Rich

From Slaves to Super-Yachts: A 2,000-Year History

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The Rich

By: John Kampfner
Narrated by: Roger Davis
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About this listen

From the Orwell Prize shortlisted author of Freedom for Sale, The Rich is the fascinating history of how economic elites from ancient Egypt to the present day have gained and spent their money.

Starting with Ancient Egypt and Greece and culminating with the oligarchies of modern Russia and China, it compares and contrasts the rich and powerful down the ages and around the world. What unites them? Have the same instincts of entrepreneurship, ambition, vanity, greed, and philanthropy applied throughout?

As contemporary politicians, economists, and the public wrestle with the inequities of our time - the parallel world inhabited by the ultra-wealthy at a time of broader hardship - it is salutary to look to history for explanations. This book synthesises thousands of years of human behaviour and asks the question: Is the development of the globalised super-rich over the past 20 years anything new?

©2014 John Kampfner (P)2014 Hachette Audio UK Economics World Socialism Imperialism Middle East China Capitalism Ancient History Taxation Middle Ages Africa Russia

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All stars
Most relevant
This timely book asks whether lessons have been learned from the 2008 crash. It also considers the profiles and behaviours of the super-rich through the ages. Many stories are familiar but the analysis is worthwhile. Overall, most prefer a low profile but the great majority choose similar indulgences: large houses and estates, vast yachts, cars and art collections. Almost without exception they are/were restless and insecure but with boundless self-belief bolstered by a self-developed justification for all that they have done. They always want more.

Well-told and well-researched

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