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Hey Yang, Where's My Thousand Bucks?: And Other True Stories of Staggering Depth
From former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, a candid and humorous blueprint for finding optimism in troubling times
IN THIS FRANK, OFTEN HILARIOUS COLLECTION OF TRUE STORIES, political trailblazer Andrew Yang examines America’s breakdown through the lens of his unexpected journey from entrepreneur to presidential candidate. Part political memoir, part comedy, and part interior monologue, Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks? captures the man’s unique ability to make complex ideas accessible and entertaining.
“In a world of bitter division and endless outrage,” says Yang, “this book is my attempt to break through the noise―with humor, honesty, and heart . . . Think of it as an insider’s guide to smiling during crazy times.”
For anyone frustrated with traditional political narratives, curious about the human behind the headlines, or simply looking for a smart, laugh-out-loud exploration of trying to improve life in America, this book promises to enlighten, entertain, and inspire. It’s more than a memoir―it’s a blueprint for generating optimism in an extremely challenging era.
IN THIS FRANK, OFTEN HILARIOUS COLLECTION OF TRUE STORIES, political trailblazer Andrew Yang examines America’s breakdown through the lens of his unexpected journey from entrepreneur to presidential candidate. Part political memoir, part comedy, and part interior monologue, Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks? captures the man’s unique ability to make complex ideas accessible and entertaining.
“In a world of bitter division and endless outrage,” says Yang, “this book is my attempt to break through the noise―with humor, honesty, and heart . . . Think of it as an insider’s guide to smiling during crazy times.”
For anyone frustrated with traditional political narratives, curious about the human behind the headlines, or simply looking for a smart, laugh-out-loud exploration of trying to improve life in America, this book promises to enlighten, entertain, and inspire. It’s more than a memoir―it’s a blueprint for generating optimism in an extremely challenging era.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published February 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 31, 2026
Yang Gang Forever ❤️
February 25, 2026
A very easy, beach read with nothing crazy in terms of substance, but just fun little anecdotes and stories from a guy I was planning to vote for in 2020 before he dropped out prior to the Massachusetts primary. I’ve been basically committed to this man since I first read “The War On Normal People” in which Yang was speaking to the mainstream audience about AI’s effects on jobs and what we should do about it long before we’d heard of ChatGPT. Would highly recommend that book if you haven’t read it. This book is just me showing my loyalty.
I did truly feel the joy from Andrew Yang throughout the book and found the little anecdotes pretty fun, as I hadn’t heard of his party organizing days (precursor to his current offline parties), meeting Steve Nash at a random court, as well as his meeting of his wife and first encounter with SBF.
There’s some politics interspersed as well, but I can see how if you’re not overly interested in his life how this book wouldn’t be as appealing. For me, however, this worked.
I did truly feel the joy from Andrew Yang throughout the book and found the little anecdotes pretty fun, as I hadn’t heard of his party organizing days (precursor to his current offline parties), meeting Steve Nash at a random court, as well as his meeting of his wife and first encounter with SBF.
There’s some politics interspersed as well, but I can see how if you’re not overly interested in his life how this book wouldn’t be as appealing. For me, however, this worked.
March 19, 2026
There are politician books that are bad because they were ghost written. There are others that are so bad that you wish they were ghost written, which unfortunately is the case on this one.
I have great appreciation for Yang’s trajectory and ideas, making this read even more disappointing.
I had a hard time understanding what could possibly justify this book. It feels like an incoherent mixed bag of anecdotes and thoughts, without proper curation or edition. In a benevolent interpretation, Yang received a gigantic writing fee offer and is too busy with his endeavors to properly care for this book. In a more cynical one, he chose to spill his frustration and seek social redemption and recognition through a sequence of humble-not-so-humble brags.
I finished the book with a sour aftertaste, as one has when disappointed after meeting famous people you admire.
I have great appreciation for Yang’s trajectory and ideas, making this read even more disappointing.
I had a hard time understanding what could possibly justify this book. It feels like an incoherent mixed bag of anecdotes and thoughts, without proper curation or edition. In a benevolent interpretation, Yang received a gigantic writing fee offer and is too busy with his endeavors to properly care for this book. In a more cynical one, he chose to spill his frustration and seek social redemption and recognition through a sequence of humble-not-so-humble brags.
I finished the book with a sour aftertaste, as one has when disappointed after meeting famous people you admire.
February 20, 2026
Great summary of Andrew’s journey. He did change the narrative as a newcomer. Lots of good stories and predictions here.
May 19, 2026
Deeply personal and inspiring. A look into one of the most inspirational figures of our time (in my opinion). Yang reveals details of his childhood, adolescence and more, which made me appreciate even more deeply what he has accomplished in life and who he is as a person. The book made me laugh and cry. Definitely worth reading if you like Andrew Yang or want to learn more about a good guy trying to do good things.
May 21, 2026
Generally fun and nicely-paced, but horribly boring at parts.
August 4, 2026
Personal & political, a great read
Andrew Yang ran for president in 2020 because of the things that got Trump elected in 2016. Yang doesn’t trash talk, he just states his claims and how we can have a bright political future. Yang founded the Forward Party in October of 2021 and its philosophies are amazing, four day work weeks and UBI, Universal Basic Income, something MLK jr proposed in 1967, an income for all American citizens 18 and older. UBI isn’t an income meant to live on, it’s a supplemental source of money so more Americans would have more funds to date and vacations for starters.
Yang is more personal and light hearted in this book as opposed to his other novels, but he still talks politics with sagacious aplomb. I learned many cool things from this book. The Forward Party for example has become the third most popular party in America, surpassing the Green and Libertarian parties, which was easy to do Yang said.
The Forward Party isn’t a Ralph Nader ruin the election approach. The Forward Party focuses on the whole political spectrum, not just the presidency. America’s currently caught in a futile fiasco of political pollution and Yang has answers and Ideas to really make American politics work well for all Americans, regardless of wealth or lack thereof.
Yang also talks about dating, entrepreneurship, NBA basketball, being affiliated with a murderer when he was in college and so much more. He’s a family man with sound solutions to so many of America’s political woes.
This book details how to qualify to run for president and I switched over to Moble Noble and saved myself more than $100 a month on my phone bill. I kept my original phone and number, and switching over to Moble Noble was a great move on my part. Nothing changed about my cell usage except for the massive savings every month. I learned about Moble Noble from “Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks,” released in February.
Americans making less than $12,000 a year are considered to be officially in poverty by the government. Yang wants every legal citizen 18 and older to receive $1,000 a month for life, hence eliminating poverty in America, a technicality I know, but a fact. I got an extra $1,000 a year when I switched over to Moble Noble.
This books is insightful and humorous, it’s a great political read and Yang with all his wisdom humanizes himself with subtle flair.
Andrew Yang ran for president in 2020 because of the things that got Trump elected in 2016. Yang doesn’t trash talk, he just states his claims and how we can have a bright political future. Yang founded the Forward Party in October of 2021 and its philosophies are amazing, four day work weeks and UBI, Universal Basic Income, something MLK jr proposed in 1967, an income for all American citizens 18 and older. UBI isn’t an income meant to live on, it’s a supplemental source of money so more Americans would have more funds to date and vacations for starters.
Yang is more personal and light hearted in this book as opposed to his other novels, but he still talks politics with sagacious aplomb. I learned many cool things from this book. The Forward Party for example has become the third most popular party in America, surpassing the Green and Libertarian parties, which was easy to do Yang said.
The Forward Party isn’t a Ralph Nader ruin the election approach. The Forward Party focuses on the whole political spectrum, not just the presidency. America’s currently caught in a futile fiasco of political pollution and Yang has answers and Ideas to really make American politics work well for all Americans, regardless of wealth or lack thereof.
Yang also talks about dating, entrepreneurship, NBA basketball, being affiliated with a murderer when he was in college and so much more. He’s a family man with sound solutions to so many of America’s political woes.
This book details how to qualify to run for president and I switched over to Moble Noble and saved myself more than $100 a month on my phone bill. I kept my original phone and number, and switching over to Moble Noble was a great move on my part. Nothing changed about my cell usage except for the massive savings every month. I learned about Moble Noble from “Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks,” released in February.
Americans making less than $12,000 a year are considered to be officially in poverty by the government. Yang wants every legal citizen 18 and older to receive $1,000 a month for life, hence eliminating poverty in America, a technicality I know, but a fact. I got an extra $1,000 a year when I switched over to Moble Noble.
This books is insightful and humorous, it’s a great political read and Yang with all his wisdom humanizes himself with subtle flair.
March 28, 2026
I read Yang's previous two political books, which covered his run for president and outlines his platform advocating for UBI, and they were both quite good. This one, however, is a mess. It mostly covers the past few years since the previous book, but starts with his childhood and includes material from his presidential run as well.
I was hoping to get more insight into his decision to split from the Democratic party, but he sort of glosses over the reasons in a vague paragraph or two, and then proceeds to lambast Biden and Harris for many pages. Which would be fine, he's not obligated to agree with them, but his criticism had almost nothing to do with policy or platform or actions, and essentially boiled down to "Biden old, Harris woman." He excoriated her for not kowtowing to Joe Rogan, as if that dangerous moron is a legitimate positive force for democracy. It's not even clear that he necessarily views trump's win as a bad thing, he mostly treats it as an inevitable outcome of not listening enough to him.
The book is peppered with inane anecdotes, bad jokes, false modesty, and lots of name dropping. I don't recall his previous books feeling so disorganized or him coming across so smug. In the final chapter, he drops all pretense and it's just an advertisement for his new mobile phone service!
I had found him an interesting presidential candidate despite his complete lack of experience or qualifications, because he raised issues that no one else was talking about, and proposed solutions that no one else was considering. All positive contributions to the process. But since then, he ran a terrible campaign for mayor, which gets only a couple of sentences in the book, he seems to want to put the fiasco behind him and rather than learn from the experience, pretend it didn't happen and just double down on everything that failed.
He seems to be a nice and smart guy who genuinely wants to make things better, but in this book he doesn't try to convince anyone that his way is viable or preferable to the party he abandoned, assuming that anyone reading it is likely already on board. But preaching to the choir is never the best way to grow a movement, and if he wants to have the impact that he desires, he's going to have to do a lot better than this mediocre slapped together schlock.
I was hoping to get more insight into his decision to split from the Democratic party, but he sort of glosses over the reasons in a vague paragraph or two, and then proceeds to lambast Biden and Harris for many pages. Which would be fine, he's not obligated to agree with them, but his criticism had almost nothing to do with policy or platform or actions, and essentially boiled down to "Biden old, Harris woman." He excoriated her for not kowtowing to Joe Rogan, as if that dangerous moron is a legitimate positive force for democracy. It's not even clear that he necessarily views trump's win as a bad thing, he mostly treats it as an inevitable outcome of not listening enough to him.
The book is peppered with inane anecdotes, bad jokes, false modesty, and lots of name dropping. I don't recall his previous books feeling so disorganized or him coming across so smug. In the final chapter, he drops all pretense and it's just an advertisement for his new mobile phone service!
I had found him an interesting presidential candidate despite his complete lack of experience or qualifications, because he raised issues that no one else was talking about, and proposed solutions that no one else was considering. All positive contributions to the process. But since then, he ran a terrible campaign for mayor, which gets only a couple of sentences in the book, he seems to want to put the fiasco behind him and rather than learn from the experience, pretend it didn't happen and just double down on everything that failed.
He seems to be a nice and smart guy who genuinely wants to make things better, but in this book he doesn't try to convince anyone that his way is viable or preferable to the party he abandoned, assuming that anyone reading it is likely already on board. But preaching to the choir is never the best way to grow a movement, and if he wants to have the impact that he desires, he's going to have to do a lot better than this mediocre slapped together schlock.
August 1, 2026
Loved it! Andrew is an inspiration to me and was one of the reasons I joined the Colorado Forward Party where we seek to elect and endorse candidates who put service to their communities before self and party. Like Andrew, I just want to see others succeed and for everyone to have opportunity for health, happiness, and the liberty that a healthy democratic society provides.
Some takeaways for me?
- Support Andrew if decides to run for president in 2028 or 2032
- As we saw in the Dune movie, Fear is the mind killer. Authoritarians and their sycophants are mind killers.
- Noble Mobile is the real deal and he makes a good case for why their strategy is good for your brain and your wallets.
- Andrew started “Humanity Forward” that lobbied Congress on behalf of the American people. One audacious success was to make permanent the expansion of the child tax credit to $2,200 indexed for inflation. Interesting that it was embedded in the BBB of 2025. Stephen Miller must not have seen this. A tremendous impact on reducing child poverty.
- Too many stories to repeat of Andrew’s younger days, running for office, and the numerous interactions he has had over the past 20 years of public life and why he is motivated to keep going! Entertaining and informative.
- On a personal note, I grew up in Schenectady and worked as an intern for GE in the same building as Andrew’s dad when Andrew was a baby. So I feel I have a connection 🙂
Some takeaways for me?
- Support Andrew if decides to run for president in 2028 or 2032
- As we saw in the Dune movie, Fear is the mind killer. Authoritarians and their sycophants are mind killers.
- Noble Mobile is the real deal and he makes a good case for why their strategy is good for your brain and your wallets.
- Andrew started “Humanity Forward” that lobbied Congress on behalf of the American people. One audacious success was to make permanent the expansion of the child tax credit to $2,200 indexed for inflation. Interesting that it was embedded in the BBB of 2025. Stephen Miller must not have seen this. A tremendous impact on reducing child poverty.
- Too many stories to repeat of Andrew’s younger days, running for office, and the numerous interactions he has had over the past 20 years of public life and why he is motivated to keep going! Entertaining and informative.
- On a personal note, I grew up in Schenectady and worked as an intern for GE in the same building as Andrew’s dad when Andrew was a baby. So I feel I have a connection 🙂
April 22, 2026
I’ve always been on the fence about Andrew Yang, and I can’t really remember why I picked up this book. I think I saw that it was a short read and decided to learn a bit more about him. Yang says this book was inspired by the fact that a lot of people have been wondering what he’s been up to since his 2020 presidential run, so he sort of explains it in this book.
This book isn’t anything groundbreaking, and I’m curious how different it is from his previous book. It’s basically a short biography, so you learn more about him, and he’s pretty charismatic so it’s a decent enough read. He talks about his presidential campaign and how it blew up, and then he talks about what he’s been up to since dropping out of the election. There are some interesting behind-the-scenes stories about his campaign and his interactions with other politicians.
I don’t know if this is a “must-read” book, but I’m an audiobook listener. It was short enough and entertaining enough that I thought it was all right.
This book isn’t anything groundbreaking, and I’m curious how different it is from his previous book. It’s basically a short biography, so you learn more about him, and he’s pretty charismatic so it’s a decent enough read. He talks about his presidential campaign and how it blew up, and then he talks about what he’s been up to since dropping out of the election. There are some interesting behind-the-scenes stories about his campaign and his interactions with other politicians.
I don’t know if this is a “must-read” book, but I’m an audiobook listener. It was short enough and entertaining enough that I thought it was all right.
February 22, 2026
Prior to reading this collection of memoir/essays, I knew very little more about Yang than his name. I kept trying to figure out what the purpose of the book was. Was he about to announce his candidacy for President in 2028? It took until nearly the end of the book for the announcement. It came on page 225. “Jokes aside, the odds of my running again are high. I like people. I love the country and those within it. And I have some ideas for how to campaign better next time.” Third party candidate.
Luckily, the book is easy reading, funny in some spots, ridiculous in others. You will have to read it yourself to see if he is the candidate for you. Probably not for me.
Luckily, the book is easy reading, funny in some spots, ridiculous in others. You will have to read it yourself to see if he is the candidate for you. Probably not for me.
April 18, 2026
Thank you to Penguin Random House for the advanced audio book in exchange for an honest rewivew.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Often funny, upbeat, and optimistic, Andrew had amazing stories to tell of his experiences as a young boy to his run for president. Many of his ideas ring true - we need some changes in US politics that benefit normal people. I also love his enthusiasm regarding bringing people together, the power of communities, ranked voting, a new political landscape, and facing the new challenges that we will face with AI.
I do enjoy having a memoir read by the author.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Often funny, upbeat, and optimistic, Andrew had amazing stories to tell of his experiences as a young boy to his run for president. Many of his ideas ring true - we need some changes in US politics that benefit normal people. I also love his enthusiasm regarding bringing people together, the power of communities, ranked voting, a new political landscape, and facing the new challenges that we will face with AI.
I do enjoy having a memoir read by the author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Akashic Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks?, Andrew Yang uses his memoir title’s infamous quip as the starting point from which he recounts impactful life moments such as growing up Asian American in the 1980s and 1990s, meeting his wife Evelyn, running a presidential campaign, and finding time to write poetry during the pandemic. While these glimpses into his life are diverse, the chapter structures felt too short at times; a few sections could have been combined into longer chapters instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2026
I read every Yang book there is. As always, "Hey Yang, Where's my Thousand Bucks" is an easy-to-read journey through Andrew Yang's early life, how he was shaped, and how he went through the 2020 primaries and New York mayoral race.
It is fun, light hearted and includes more philosophical discussions surrounding his ideas, UBI, and what he got right in his predictions.
I highly recommend for any Yanggang!
It is fun, light hearted and includes more philosophical discussions surrounding his ideas, UBI, and what he got right in his predictions.
I highly recommend for any Yanggang!
July 23, 2026
A little silly, a little irreverent, very funny. I have been an Andrew Yang fan since reading The War on Normal People and I continue to follow his missives. With this book, I loved reading the stories about Andrew's growing up, his family, and his predictions. I also appreciate his efforts at reforming a clearly broken system. While not beautifully written, I appreciate his candor and truth telling. I'm still a fan.
March 5, 2026
Fun and goofy but there is more than a little filler here - not sure we needed to have his 2024 Dean Phillips endorsement reprinted (it was the longest chapter in the book) among this collection of lightweight, jokey musings. ChatGPT, Andrew Yang says you’ll take all our jobs but in the meantime, which is better: Noble Mobile or Mint Mobile?
March 6, 2026
An insider look at Andrew Yang
Yang’s latest book is a humorous autobiography - and I think a prelude to a presidential run in 2028. Check out the last chapters and conclusion to see what you think. I’ll be there for him as a Yangster from the day he launched his first campaign proposing a Freedom Dividend and many other innovative reforms.
Yang’s latest book is a humorous autobiography - and I think a prelude to a presidential run in 2028. Check out the last chapters and conclusion to see what you think. I’ll be there for him as a Yangster from the day he launched his first campaign proposing a Freedom Dividend and many other innovative reforms.
June 22, 2026
This felt like cut pieces of his first book and an update on what he’s been doing since he last ran for president and started the forward party. Not much to it most interesting part was why he left the Democratic Party and calling balls and strikes on the Biden/Harris 2024 campaign.
September 30, 2026
I have to say, Andrew Yang is hilarious. This book was deceptively simplistic but he makes many good points. I'd like more explanation about the UBI, as in how it would work on a technical level but maybe that's in another of his books.
March 14, 2026
Yang makes more sense and has fewer ties to the establishment.
March 31, 2026
A short autobiography. Well tailored as a audiobook, good antidotes from his life and campaign, very personable. Groundbreaking substance no.
April 10, 2026
Skip to part 4 if you've read any of his other books.
Doesn't credit Anand Macherla for the stat on how many VFA people got married!
Easily readable. Somewhat funny. Good dude.
Doesn't credit Anand Macherla for the stat on how many VFA people got married!
Easily readable. Somewhat funny. Good dude.
May 2, 2026
The funniest and most down-to-earth book ever written by a presidential candidate.
October 3, 2026
The book was alright, I didn't see him being that vulnerable. but it was good insight on how it was, I really like him. I wish he was president. If I had a choice, I think he would be one of the best presidents of our lifetime.
July 25, 2026
A fun memoir, Yang is a very likeable guy. Wasn't expecting a lot but it was really interesting in parts and made me laugh a lot.
February 16, 2026
A super quick book that is basically a 5 years recap of his life recently, I enjoyed the insight, gratitude and goals, his predictions of AI chomping the job market, how the K-shaped economy is here to stay, people will fall in love with the Scarlet Johansson in HER, and there will be amazing medical and scientific discoverie, he may have taken 2 L’s in a row - president and major NYC, but he’s made Noble Mobile, cell-phone free parties, and giving away all of his money on X, he also was at the forefront of trying to get stimulus checks, child tax credit, and Biden out from running otra vez, my favorite political figure who is waiting for the right moment to unleash his UBI and time banking and rank choice voting and primaries
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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