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Stinking Rich

The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire

Carl Rhodes (University of Technology Sydney.)

$41.95

Hardback

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English
Bristol University Press
31 March 2025
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.
By:  
Imprint:   Bristol University Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 216mm,  Width: 140mm, 
ISBN:   9781529239102
ISBN 10:   1529239109
Pages:   218
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Undergraduate ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Carl Rhodes is Professor of Organisation 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.

Reviews for Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire

"""For years billionaires have spent vast resources to portray themselves as heroic, generous and meritorious. As this book demonstrates, this ideology is a self-serving veil that appears increasingly misplaced and fragile to many. A must-read."" Thomas Piketty, Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and author of Capital in the 21st Century ""Rhodes skewers four myths around billionaires and shows how the failure of neoliberalism has led to a reaction against them, who were both its beneficiaries and its propagators."" John Quiggin, University of Queensland ""The deserving billionaire is a figment of their own imagination, a self-delusion functional to their struggle to legitimise their illegitimate, toxic wealth. Carl Rhodes explains why."" Yanis Varoufakis, University of Athens"


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