The Rich

Synopsis

Starting with the Romans and Ancient Egypt 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 twenty years anything new?

Editions

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: 2 July 2015

Publisher: Abacus

ISBN: 9780349139081

Reviews

The Times “absorbing read . . . there is plenty of rich material” read full review

Guardian  “witty, extremely readable and home to all sorts of enjoyably crazy figures” read full review

Independent “But just how slow this revolution will be – if it occurs at all – is perfectly illustrated by John Kampfner’s The Rich, which covers the 2,000 year history of the super-rich.” read full review

Financial Times “The Rich bursts with fascinating details about the lives of a colourful cast of ultra-wealthy characters . . . a sweeping narrative that traces a lineage from the majesty of earlier ages to the oligarchs and tycoons of the present day”

Tatler “Fascinating”

Literary Review “More readable than Piketty . . . original and enjoyable -- Martin Vander Weyer