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A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich
Crown
June 2007
On Sale: June 5, 2007
288 pages
ISBN: 0307339262
EAN: 9780307339263
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
The rich have always been different from you and me, but
this revealing and funny journey through “Richistan”
entertainingly shows that they are more different than ever.
Richistanis have 400-foot-yachts, 30,000-square-foot homes,
house staffs of more than 100, and their own “arborists.”
They’re also different from Old Money, and have torn down
blue-blood institutions to build their own shining empire.
Richistan is like the best travel writing, full of colorful
and interesting stories providing insights into exotic
locales. Robert Frank has been loitering on the docks of
yacht marinas, pestering his way into charity balls, and
schmoozing with real estate agents selling mega-houses to
capture the story of the twenty-first century’s nouveau riche: House-training the rich. People with new wealth have to be
taught how to act like, well, proper rich people. Just in
the nick of time, there’s been a boom in the number of newly
trained butlers—“household managers”—who will serve just the
right cabernet when a Richistani’s new buddies from Palm
Beach stop by. “My boat is bigger than your boat.” Only in Richistan would
a 100-foot-boat be considered a dinghy. Personal pleasure
craft have started to rival navy destroyers in size and
speed. Richistan is also a place where friends make fun of
those misers who buy the new girlfriend a mere Mercedes SLK. “You want my money? Prove that you’re helping the needy!”
Richistanis are not only consuming like crazy, they’re also
shaking up the establishment’s bureaucratic, slow-moving
charity network, making lean, results-oriented philanthropy
an important new driving force. Move over, Christian Coalition. Richistanis are more
Democratic than Republican, “fed up and not going to take it
anymore,” and willing to spend millions to get
progressive-oriented politicians elected. “My name is Mike and I’m rich.” Think that money is the
answer? Think again as Robert Frank explores the emotional
complexities of wealth. And, as Robert Frank reveals, there is not one Richistan but
three: Lower, Middle, and Upper, each of which has its own
levels and distinctions of wealth —the haves and the
have-mores. The influence of Richistan and the Richistanis
extends well beyond the almost ten million households that
make up its population, as the nonstop quest for status and
an insatiable demand for luxury goods reshapes the entire
American economy.
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