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Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West
A revealing look at the intersection of wealth, philanthropy, and conservation
Billionaire Wilderness takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today’s richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States, and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, and other prominent figures in business and politics. He also talked with the rural poor who live among the ultra-wealthy and often work for them. The result is a penetrating account of the far-reaching consequences of the massive accrual of wealth and a troubling portrait of a changing American West where romanticizing rural poverty and conserving nature can be lucrative, socially as well as financially.
Billionaire Wilderness takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today’s richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States, and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, and other prominent figures in business and politics. He also talked with the rural poor who live among the ultra-wealthy and often work for them. The result is a penetrating account of the far-reaching consequences of the massive accrual of wealth and a troubling portrait of a changing American West where romanticizing rural poverty and conserving nature can be lucrative, socially as well as financially.
380 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2020
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August 31, 2021
I spend a lot of time on Goodreads, so I've gotten pretty adept at reading book reviews and realizing: the type of book review that is filled with memes about how the reader is just SHATTERED and this book is just I CAN’T and YOU MUST READ AND YOUR LIFE WILL BE CHANGED, usually mean the book is complete and utter crap. So I can only humbly beg you: please read this book, it isn’t crap, it’s incredibly important and everyone should read it even though I’m about to post exactly that type of fan-girling review. *
Billionaire Wilderness is a study of the county in the United States with the greatest wealth inequality: not, as you may be guessing, Silicon Valley, but Teton County, Wyoming. Here, a place where “billionaires move and displace the millionaires,” the country’s wealthiest elite gather to enjoy the splendors of nature and a return to the simple ways of rural Western life. They build million-dollar mansions in view of the Grand Tetons, walk around in jeans and cowboy boots, celebrate how money doesn’t get in the way of community and their ability to make friends with the working poor because they all share the same value system (“nature”). They get the rest and relaxation they so readily deserve. Oh, and they use the complete tax shelter that is Wyoming to avoid paying any income tax, drive lower-income people out of town by putting all the land under private ownership to protect it from any ‘lesser uses’, employ tools like conservation easements to make even more money, and engage with nature on capitalist-safe terms by buying up land for conservation while ignoring local social issues and whether or not the sources of their billions – like oil drilling or financial manipulation of the market – may actually be causing all the problems they’re now so concerned about solving.
The author, Justin Farrell, has done some truly impressive research in putting this book together. He spent five years interviewing nearly two hundred wealthy residents of Wyoming – crucial, it turns out, because the wealthy, for a lot of reasons, are systematically understudied. We spend lots of time studying and learning from people in lower income brackets but have very little insight into the upper income brackets, even though they wield a massive influence on our world. Farrell pioneers a completely new method: he interviews not only wealthy people, but the lower-income people his original interviewees refer to, giving him a two-sided perspective on his topic – almost a journalistic approach to sociology, and one that brings an incredible new depth and nuance to his work. He combines this with a quantitative dataset, painstakingly assembled from IRS records, to map where all of the non-profit money and social connections flow in Teton County. In place with probably the highest per-capita distribution of non-profits in the country, Farrell's dataset shows wealthy people donate nearly everything to art and local land protection and almost nothing to social services that support real people in the community.
The psychology of the ultra-wealthy, and the results of their actions that Farrell’s research articulates is truly, sickeningly fascinating. The wealthy use nature as a form of restorative, rejuvenate identity. Protecting it – by locking up more land – becomes a way to reconcile any guilt they may feel for their vast wealth, to feel like they are part of a cherished community all working towards the same thing. They idolize the simpler ways of the west, the values of people who simply “love nature.” Farrell points out:
Lest I merely summarize the whole book, let me simply say: this book is a study in contradictions, in nuance, in complexity of issues, in asking hard questions about who wins under our current system and who doesn’t, and then who gets to feel good about it, generate social prestige from it, and continue to protect what they have. Farrell states, over and over again, that he did not conduct this research with an agenda, nor to judge the people he interviews, and I believe him. Yet the results speak for themselves - the ultimate show, don't tell. While not an ultra-wealthy person myself, I’ve always been in support of conservation easements (here on the East Coast, they’re often a vehicle for small family farms to survive financially), but seeing them wielded in the way they are here – a tool to generate more wealth, further drive others out, lock away nature from those who might “spoil it” by simply trying to survive, and all under the guise of clapping yourself on the back about your own generosity – made me emotionally, physically consider new nuances of nature and wealth.
After all this raving, however, you may be wondering why this qualifies as a 4-star book and not a 5-star book. Two reasons: first, I am a perpetual cynic and critic determined to find flaw in perfection; second, there were a few issues with the writing. Farrell was so pleased with some of the phrases he came up with that he used them over and over again in a manner that was distracting, not helpful. (“Solving with the left hand the problems the right hand created” is a great phrase!...the first time. By the fourth time…I’ve got it. I’ve got what you’re saying. Move on.) A larger issue was repeating examples. When your methodology relies heavily on qualitative interviews, but the same anecdote is repeatedly offered, it implies to me that the author is cherry picking and only has this one piece of evidence for their argument. Farrell would announce very clearly, this is what I’m going to prove – here’s an example that proves it – look, see, I provide it! – and while, yes, that’s how you’re supposed to guide a reader along, you’re supposed to do it subtly. It got to the point where I was being told so aggressively what was about to be proven that I started doubting the supporting facts truly did show anything with that degree of intensity.
But. I’m still recommending this book to half the people in my life – people interested in the environment, people interested in wealth inequality, people fiercely striving to be this type of successful, people interested in effective altruism…really, if I know you, I can find some way to recommend this book to you. This type of research, that so artfully combines such a multitude of fields and issues from a truly unique perspective, should be held up as an example for all non-fiction. My form of highest praise for a book is not 5 stars on Goodreads: it’s purchasing my own copy, which I’ll be doing at a local bookstore ASAP. This book shook me and is making me rethink many of my own goals and approaches to political issues, and that can’t be anything but good.
*Except without the GIFs. I had to draw the line somewhere.
Billionaire Wilderness is a study of the county in the United States with the greatest wealth inequality: not, as you may be guessing, Silicon Valley, but Teton County, Wyoming. Here, a place where “billionaires move and displace the millionaires,” the country’s wealthiest elite gather to enjoy the splendors of nature and a return to the simple ways of rural Western life. They build million-dollar mansions in view of the Grand Tetons, walk around in jeans and cowboy boots, celebrate how money doesn’t get in the way of community and their ability to make friends with the working poor because they all share the same value system (“nature”). They get the rest and relaxation they so readily deserve. Oh, and they use the complete tax shelter that is Wyoming to avoid paying any income tax, drive lower-income people out of town by putting all the land under private ownership to protect it from any ‘lesser uses’, employ tools like conservation easements to make even more money, and engage with nature on capitalist-safe terms by buying up land for conservation while ignoring local social issues and whether or not the sources of their billions – like oil drilling or financial manipulation of the market – may actually be causing all the problems they’re now so concerned about solving.
The author, Justin Farrell, has done some truly impressive research in putting this book together. He spent five years interviewing nearly two hundred wealthy residents of Wyoming – crucial, it turns out, because the wealthy, for a lot of reasons, are systematically understudied. We spend lots of time studying and learning from people in lower income brackets but have very little insight into the upper income brackets, even though they wield a massive influence on our world. Farrell pioneers a completely new method: he interviews not only wealthy people, but the lower-income people his original interviewees refer to, giving him a two-sided perspective on his topic – almost a journalistic approach to sociology, and one that brings an incredible new depth and nuance to his work. He combines this with a quantitative dataset, painstakingly assembled from IRS records, to map where all of the non-profit money and social connections flow in Teton County. In place with probably the highest per-capita distribution of non-profits in the country, Farrell's dataset shows wealthy people donate nearly everything to art and local land protection and almost nothing to social services that support real people in the community.
The psychology of the ultra-wealthy, and the results of their actions that Farrell’s research articulates is truly, sickeningly fascinating. The wealthy use nature as a form of restorative, rejuvenate identity. Protecting it – by locking up more land – becomes a way to reconcile any guilt they may feel for their vast wealth, to feel like they are part of a cherished community all working towards the same thing. They idolize the simpler ways of the west, the values of people who simply “love nature.” Farrell points out:
“This approach also corresponds with the view that nature is a much needed (and deserved) therapeutic cure-all, enabling the ultra-wealthy to remain sane amid the stress-inducting powder keg of a high-profile career, great wealth, and family demands. This safe approach to conservation, which emphasizes a vague “everything in balance” use of science, is aimed to preserve and purify an imagined Eden for the purpose of providing health-giving aesthetic beauty. In the end, this veneer prevents engagement with many of the most pressing, contentious, costly, self-demanding, and ‘unsafe’ environmental problems that we face today (for example, energy transition, climate change, modern consumption, drought, deforestation, and so on).”
Lest I merely summarize the whole book, let me simply say: this book is a study in contradictions, in nuance, in complexity of issues, in asking hard questions about who wins under our current system and who doesn’t, and then who gets to feel good about it, generate social prestige from it, and continue to protect what they have. Farrell states, over and over again, that he did not conduct this research with an agenda, nor to judge the people he interviews, and I believe him. Yet the results speak for themselves - the ultimate show, don't tell. While not an ultra-wealthy person myself, I’ve always been in support of conservation easements (here on the East Coast, they’re often a vehicle for small family farms to survive financially), but seeing them wielded in the way they are here – a tool to generate more wealth, further drive others out, lock away nature from those who might “spoil it” by simply trying to survive, and all under the guise of clapping yourself on the back about your own generosity – made me emotionally, physically consider new nuances of nature and wealth.
After all this raving, however, you may be wondering why this qualifies as a 4-star book and not a 5-star book. Two reasons: first, I am a perpetual cynic and critic determined to find flaw in perfection; second, there were a few issues with the writing. Farrell was so pleased with some of the phrases he came up with that he used them over and over again in a manner that was distracting, not helpful. (“Solving with the left hand the problems the right hand created” is a great phrase!...the first time. By the fourth time…I’ve got it. I’ve got what you’re saying. Move on.) A larger issue was repeating examples. When your methodology relies heavily on qualitative interviews, but the same anecdote is repeatedly offered, it implies to me that the author is cherry picking and only has this one piece of evidence for their argument. Farrell would announce very clearly, this is what I’m going to prove – here’s an example that proves it – look, see, I provide it! – and while, yes, that’s how you’re supposed to guide a reader along, you’re supposed to do it subtly. It got to the point where I was being told so aggressively what was about to be proven that I started doubting the supporting facts truly did show anything with that degree of intensity.
But. I’m still recommending this book to half the people in my life – people interested in the environment, people interested in wealth inequality, people fiercely striving to be this type of successful, people interested in effective altruism…really, if I know you, I can find some way to recommend this book to you. This type of research, that so artfully combines such a multitude of fields and issues from a truly unique perspective, should be held up as an example for all non-fiction. My form of highest praise for a book is not 5 stars on Goodreads: it’s purchasing my own copy, which I’ll be doing at a local bookstore ASAP. This book shook me and is making me rethink many of my own goals and approaches to political issues, and that can’t be anything but good.
*Except without the GIFs. I had to draw the line somewhere.
February 21, 2023
Justin Farrell, a Yale professor and a native of Wyoming, spent five years researching and interviewing the ultra-wealthy and the working class in Teton County, WY---the richest county in the US as well as the county with the largest income inequality. His research resulted in Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West.
One Teton County resident describes the community is a "barbell" community---one end of the barbell are those with incredible wealth and the other end of the barbell are those who are working multiple jobs and living in trailers with 8 - 10 other people. Most of the time, the working class live on the other side of the Tetons and have treacherous drives to work.
The book covers some of the tax benefits of owning land or a home in Wyoming; there aren't any resident requirements. Teton County has land trusts so that development is very limited. This helps the home prices of the wealthy continue to escalate but it creates a lack of housing for the working class.
The uber-exclusive Yellowstone Club is discussed in the book as well as the privacy, security, and financial needs of those with high wealth.
The book has an academic and research tone; the personal interviews are highly enlightening.
One Teton County resident describes the community is a "barbell" community---one end of the barbell are those with incredible wealth and the other end of the barbell are those who are working multiple jobs and living in trailers with 8 - 10 other people. Most of the time, the working class live on the other side of the Tetons and have treacherous drives to work.
The book covers some of the tax benefits of owning land or a home in Wyoming; there aren't any resident requirements. Teton County has land trusts so that development is very limited. This helps the home prices of the wealthy continue to escalate but it creates a lack of housing for the working class.
The uber-exclusive Yellowstone Club is discussed in the book as well as the privacy, security, and financial needs of those with high wealth.
The book has an academic and research tone; the personal interviews are highly enlightening.
May 6, 2022
My in-person book club selection for May 2022 is an academic examination of the extreme wealth found in the Teton/Jackson Hole Wyoming area. It's a slog of academic research that manages to illuminate some excellent points/research findings with a focus on the problems (extreme wage gap) and philanthropy (mostly conservation and art) of those who move to Wyoming. While I appreciated some parts of the book/research more than others, I found other parts repetitive and unnecessarily expansive. At the same time, some research points are never clearly defined or described leaving me unsure of what was actually being discussed. Interesting research but not written in a compelling way.
February 12, 2022
This book discusses some great and important ideas but does so with very poor writing style and a great deal of repetition. It doesn't make it so boring that I wanted to stop, it just is very unnecessary, and in some ways weakens the strength of the book's message quite a bit.
March 10, 2021
Most people have no idea how much one billion dollars is.
There's a popular hyperbolic comparison that goes something like, the money you earn in one year is the same as what Jeff Bezos earns in the time it takes you to read this sentence.
I was compelled to read Billionaire Wilderness more so for the wilderness part of the title. As in, what is it about the U.S.'s vacant inner lands that would attract such enormous wealth?
It turns out that some of the super-rich also have a social conscience, or at least that's what they want their legacy to be.
Justin Farrell's book focuses on Teton County, Wyo., a sort of inter-continental Cayman Islands, where the scenery is great and the tax burden is minimal, thanks to generations of crafty politicians. (A memorable line from the book describes the area as "where the millionaires are being driven out by the billionaires").
The tech titans and energy executives arrive - along with their bratty, entitled children - with intentions of land and animal conservation. These noble but tone-deaf activities come at a cost to the everyday locals, who build and maintain the massive homes and compounds, and in many ways become subservient to the wealthy newcomers. Particularly eye-opening is how the non-wealthy residents, some of whom have family history going back generations, lose their voice in the community when the wealthy landowners begin taking seats in local government.
Farrell spoke to hundreds of people in the area while researching this book, and he provides poignant and informative anecdotes to help weave the story together.
The main criticism is that the text sometimes comes across as academic, and the narrative can be interrupted by citations or references to previous notations.
Regardless, it's difficult to find a journalistic report written with the hand of crafty wordsmith.
I recommend this book based on its worthwhile content.
-KO'D
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
There's a popular hyperbolic comparison that goes something like, the money you earn in one year is the same as what Jeff Bezos earns in the time it takes you to read this sentence.
I was compelled to read Billionaire Wilderness more so for the wilderness part of the title. As in, what is it about the U.S.'s vacant inner lands that would attract such enormous wealth?
It turns out that some of the super-rich also have a social conscience, or at least that's what they want their legacy to be.
Justin Farrell's book focuses on Teton County, Wyo., a sort of inter-continental Cayman Islands, where the scenery is great and the tax burden is minimal, thanks to generations of crafty politicians. (A memorable line from the book describes the area as "where the millionaires are being driven out by the billionaires").
The tech titans and energy executives arrive - along with their bratty, entitled children - with intentions of land and animal conservation. These noble but tone-deaf activities come at a cost to the everyday locals, who build and maintain the massive homes and compounds, and in many ways become subservient to the wealthy newcomers. Particularly eye-opening is how the non-wealthy residents, some of whom have family history going back generations, lose their voice in the community when the wealthy landowners begin taking seats in local government.
Farrell spoke to hundreds of people in the area while researching this book, and he provides poignant and informative anecdotes to help weave the story together.
The main criticism is that the text sometimes comes across as academic, and the narrative can be interrupted by citations or references to previous notations.
Regardless, it's difficult to find a journalistic report written with the hand of crafty wordsmith.
I recommend this book based on its worthwhile content.
-KO'D
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
January 25, 2021
A unique perspective of the ultra-wealthy in Teton County, Wyoming. A valuable critique of the situation in that specific location as well as capitalism more broadly. Some specific problems that I had with the book: female representation is severely lacking in the substantial discussion. It only appears in earnest in the chapter about guilt. Farrell talks more about how many interviews were conducted and how many people he talked to more than he actually shares the content of those interviews. It felt like a lot of wind up without much actual action. Also, there are a lot of statistics and anecdotes that are used repeatedly. This might make the chapters usable in an academic context, but it makes it far less interesting to read outright - again, especially since he mentions frequently that he has an abundance of examples and stories.
March 6, 2021
Ok, There was a lot of interesting information and research in this book. Now if someone could just parse through it and condense into a readable narrative it would get 4 stars. I can only imagine how bad Billionaire Wildernesses was before the editor got to it.
I recommend having your favorite alcoholic beverage handy and taking a drink every time you read the phrase “Rarified Heights”. You will be black out drunk 20 pages in.
Very dry and academic 🙄
I recommend having your favorite alcoholic beverage handy and taking a drink every time you read the phrase “Rarified Heights”. You will be black out drunk 20 pages in.
Very dry and academic 🙄
October 9, 2020
A stomach churning indictment of the moral hubris of the ultra wealthy and just how abjectly half baked their thoughts/ideas about conservation and the environment are. I think with better editing I would have gotten more out of the book. Structurally, it leans far too hard on the academic tropes of contemporary sociology research while the author's delivery is pretty insufferable.
June 3, 2021
This book was an extremely good intro to issues in land use and conservation and showed the unique way that the wealthy exploit environmentalism for their own benefit. Teton County is a canary in the coal mine for regions like Salt Lake City or Hawai'i which are seeing their own influx of ultra-rich landowners.
It was fascinating to learn the ways that conservation and environmentalism are wielded to shore up and enrich the wealth of the already ultra-wealthy. Farrell illustrated how they donate huge sums of money to land trusts and environmental causes while ignoring the skyrocketing cost of housing and suppressed wages in their cities. Those *working* in Jackson are often living in vans and trailers, sharing space with several other families, or commuting over a treacherous mountain pass having been priced out of the community which they serve. Yet the ultra-rich that have created this problem donate their resources to social greenwashing instead of anything that would better the lives of those in their community. Buying up land for the land trust blocks further development, preserving the "wild" character of the region while simultaneously driving up the value of their own homes. It's become so rampant that millionaires can no longer afford their property taxes and are being pushed out of their homes, leaving a community of billionaire homeowners served by an imported labor force that can barely scrape by on $40,000/year.
It was also interesting to read of the way the wealthy in Teton County roleplay as humble working-class people. They wear Levi's jeans and try to cover up any outward signs of wealth while they're in town so they can pretend they're "normal people" and convince themselves they can still relate to their working-class neighbors. Many of them even went so far as to describe those who work for them as their friends. Interestingly enough, when these very same workers were asked about their relationship, it was described as purely transactional and they couldn't understand why they would be viewed as anything resembling friends.
As excellent as this book was, I could have done without the repetitive phrasing. It seems like the author found a really catchy way to describe a phenomenon and couldn't let it go after that. When he came back to the same 10 stories to illustrate a point, it made the book feel lacking in evidence or anecdotal rather than data-driven.
It was fascinating to learn the ways that conservation and environmentalism are wielded to shore up and enrich the wealth of the already ultra-wealthy. Farrell illustrated how they donate huge sums of money to land trusts and environmental causes while ignoring the skyrocketing cost of housing and suppressed wages in their cities. Those *working* in Jackson are often living in vans and trailers, sharing space with several other families, or commuting over a treacherous mountain pass having been priced out of the community which they serve. Yet the ultra-rich that have created this problem donate their resources to social greenwashing instead of anything that would better the lives of those in their community. Buying up land for the land trust blocks further development, preserving the "wild" character of the region while simultaneously driving up the value of their own homes. It's become so rampant that millionaires can no longer afford their property taxes and are being pushed out of their homes, leaving a community of billionaire homeowners served by an imported labor force that can barely scrape by on $40,000/year.
It was also interesting to read of the way the wealthy in Teton County roleplay as humble working-class people. They wear Levi's jeans and try to cover up any outward signs of wealth while they're in town so they can pretend they're "normal people" and convince themselves they can still relate to their working-class neighbors. Many of them even went so far as to describe those who work for them as their friends. Interestingly enough, when these very same workers were asked about their relationship, it was described as purely transactional and they couldn't understand why they would be viewed as anything resembling friends.
As excellent as this book was, I could have done without the repetitive phrasing. It seems like the author found a really catchy way to describe a phenomenon and couldn't let it go after that. When he came back to the same 10 stories to illustrate a point, it made the book feel lacking in evidence or anecdotal rather than data-driven.
February 19, 2021
This is a profoundly academic book, and yet it does not read like one. "Billionaire Wilderness" reads like a solid narrative, despite the many times it references research methodology and the theses the author brought to the book. It is the kind of book that any lover of nonfiction will not want to put down.
One very refreshing thing about the book is its fairness and its honesty. The author is opinionated and outspoken, but also sees all present in the book as probably-good human beings. He is sympathetic to and understanding of the ultra-wealth, seeking their stories rather than demonizing them; at the same time, he speaks to the marginalized poor and working class, not allowing their stories to be sidelined for a book solely focusing on the elites. It makes the book fascinating to read.
The book dissects philanthropy heavily, which is one of its interesting conclusions. It is not dissecting it so much for the tax reasons that the subject often is, but for the social ramifications and the focuses. Environmentalism isn't always as pure and idyllic as it may seem. I won't spoil more, but the topic is extensively discussed in the book.
Last summer, I went to Montana for the first time, and fell in love with it. The American West that acts as the centerpiece of this book is magnificent and heavily desirable. As a Californian who went up there, I was in love nearly immediately. There is a fine line between admiration and fetishize toon, this book posits, and it opens the door for a lot to go wrong. For those who have long studied urban poverty, displacement, gentrification, and the like, this book takes an important look at race and class in a part of society many of us miss: the rural west.
One very refreshing thing about the book is its fairness and its honesty. The author is opinionated and outspoken, but also sees all present in the book as probably-good human beings. He is sympathetic to and understanding of the ultra-wealth, seeking their stories rather than demonizing them; at the same time, he speaks to the marginalized poor and working class, not allowing their stories to be sidelined for a book solely focusing on the elites. It makes the book fascinating to read.
The book dissects philanthropy heavily, which is one of its interesting conclusions. It is not dissecting it so much for the tax reasons that the subject often is, but for the social ramifications and the focuses. Environmentalism isn't always as pure and idyllic as it may seem. I won't spoil more, but the topic is extensively discussed in the book.
Last summer, I went to Montana for the first time, and fell in love with it. The American West that acts as the centerpiece of this book is magnificent and heavily desirable. As a Californian who went up there, I was in love nearly immediately. There is a fine line between admiration and fetishize toon, this book posits, and it opens the door for a lot to go wrong. For those who have long studied urban poverty, displacement, gentrification, and the like, this book takes an important look at race and class in a part of society many of us miss: the rural west.
July 25, 2020
A boring book with very little engaging information despite the author's repeated claims of how vital his "research" into this subject area is.
The author never tired of claiming his dual bonafides of being born in Wyoming and attending Yale. While this undoubtedly impressed the insufferable classist snobs that he was writing a book about, it left me wondering how empty his information basket must be for him to have to emphasize these two facts over and over.
The fact is the American West is being constantly remade. Subjugating the Native Americans, overtaking open lands with privately owned cattle ranches and extraction industries, pushing these rural industries aside for the outdoor recreation and tourism industry, and finally the current closed environment of rich people cos-playing cowboy/rancher and congratulating each other for their fabulousness with the assistance of their underpaid service industry minions crowding into hotels and trailers and worrying about their visa status.
Anyone who has had their eyes open for the last 30 years has witnessed the income disparity and the rise of obscene profits in the financial sector. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the people at the top of this pyramid of privilege are largely self-serving. The book would have been better off as a click bait article on the web and the title could just as easily have been "Rich People: Myopic and Entitled."
The author never tired of claiming his dual bonafides of being born in Wyoming and attending Yale. While this undoubtedly impressed the insufferable classist snobs that he was writing a book about, it left me wondering how empty his information basket must be for him to have to emphasize these two facts over and over.
The fact is the American West is being constantly remade. Subjugating the Native Americans, overtaking open lands with privately owned cattle ranches and extraction industries, pushing these rural industries aside for the outdoor recreation and tourism industry, and finally the current closed environment of rich people cos-playing cowboy/rancher and congratulating each other for their fabulousness with the assistance of their underpaid service industry minions crowding into hotels and trailers and worrying about their visa status.
Anyone who has had their eyes open for the last 30 years has witnessed the income disparity and the rise of obscene profits in the financial sector. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the people at the top of this pyramid of privilege are largely self-serving. The book would have been better off as a click bait article on the web and the title could just as easily have been "Rich People: Myopic and Entitled."
September 5, 2024
Fascinating stuff. Only a 3 because it’s not like, a good literary read (dense, repetitive, academic) but super interesting. Tax the ultra rich!!
May 24, 2023
- Some interesting content and interviews, overall a bad book. I started thinking this would be 4 stars and dwindled down to 2 (at best).
- Despite the author claiming at the start he was being unbiased and presenting the facts, it quickly spiraled away from that within the first quarter of the book
- This book took longer to get through than it should because 1) it’s not compelling to read given how repetitive it is 2) it’s written poorly 3) he lacks credibility because of his biases shown in the book
- Didn’t realize how much I hated this book until I wrote all this which is way too long
The information is not conveyed well and did not need to be a book
- Incredibly repetitive, should have been an article or a paper, not a book. Really stretched to make this 300 pages so he could charge $28 for a book
- Every part has an intro. Every chapter has an intro. Every section in the chapter has an intro. Every section has a recap. Every recap has an intro. He constantly reiterates information from past chapters.
- Really could’ve been written better, I don’t need to know “after this meeting I drove up the road and opened the door. It was breakfast time so I had eggs”
- Unnecessarily difficult to read. Could have been much more concise in his language but throws around big words to prove he’s a superior academic who has a deeper understand of sociology than anyone else
- None of the charts are titled and it’s incredibly annoying. I shouldn’t have to read through the footnotes to understand what he’s trying to say.
It’s not unbiased. Despite him saying he’s just presenting facts he’s constantly inserting his opinion and twisting peoples’ words to fit his narrative.
- He goes out of his way to spin peoples answers into his own opinions. If a rich person says he’s friends with a low-income worker Farrell knows it’s only because of the economics of their working relationship. When a poor person says that they’re grateful for the ultra-rich he states that it’s a canned answer motivated by their desire to work to survive. I have no idea how he claims this is an unbiased book.
- A lot of his “analysis” is just his own biased observations like saying on page 63 that “back of the house and “front of the house” jobs are determined by your race
- He constantly just makes his own inferences and assumptions for people. Like chapter 7 where he creates identities for the people he talks to explain his perception of their personalities. And because he’s a sociology major he must be better equipped to make assumptions of people than anyone else.
I think there’s actually a fair degree of unnecessary criticism of the ultra-rich
- At the end of chapter 2 he says that there’s “a sense of entitlement or assumed privilege of privacy” by contacting all of [the Yellowstone club]… but the members are kind of right. If someone came into your private community to write a hit piece on you and your friends then you would feel your privacy had been infringed upon. Especially for people who live such public lives.
- Asks very uncomfortable questions and then judges people who he puts in this awkward position, often making his own inferences on “what they actually meant” and disregarding their actual words. If someone is shy or stammers he states they’re getting caught in their lie.
There’s a lot of flaws in his arguments (which he’d claim he does not have one, but he clearly does), only a few of which:
- Not a lot of empirical evidence to back up and point made by anyone in this book. It’s all just stories and cherry-picked anecdotes. But I guess that’s sociology.
- I find irony that he mocks the rich for wearing cowboy clothes to fit in with the poor but does his best impression to hide his Wyoming background and boast his Yale education to fit in with the elites. Maybe there’s something there but then again maybe there isn’t.
- His points about the wealthy being entitled are very hypocritical considering he says that they take care of conservation and wildlife efforts than they do the Latino workers in the community. This implies the non-wealthy feel entitled to money from the wealthy.
- A lot of the people in this book are self-made wealthy and he still puts them in a bad light. I can understand judging generational wealth, but the self-made wealthy are exactly why the immigrants in this book came here.
- The low-income people chose to move here specifically because rich people live here. It was their decision. If the wealthy did not move to Jackson then the non-wealthy wouldn’t have either.
There’s a lot of valid points and good dialogue from the non-wealthy interviewees
- I agree with the economic divide and glaring issues in the wealth here. He really just delivered his research and personal opinions so poorly.
- “It’s really important that we recycle here on our way to the private jet”
- Rich people dressing down being referred to as being “in costume” to fit in with the non-wealthy makes sense. Their attitude towards feeling like they’re one of the working man is a fair criticism. But at the same time what would you rather they do? Wear expensive clothes and then criticize them for that?
Overall, I can understand and agree to some aspects of the incredible economic divide on display. There’s a lot of really interesting interviews and valid points made by these people living in poverty next to the richest people in the world. I’m not even on the ultra-rich’s side, however Farrell gets in his own way constantly by inserting his opinion, twisting peoples’ words, and drawing inferences where there are none. I think another author could have given a fairer analysis--while being less hypocritical--and maybe even proposing solutions (something Farrell didn’t do once).
- Despite the author claiming at the start he was being unbiased and presenting the facts, it quickly spiraled away from that within the first quarter of the book
- This book took longer to get through than it should because 1) it’s not compelling to read given how repetitive it is 2) it’s written poorly 3) he lacks credibility because of his biases shown in the book
- Didn’t realize how much I hated this book until I wrote all this which is way too long
The information is not conveyed well and did not need to be a book
- Incredibly repetitive, should have been an article or a paper, not a book. Really stretched to make this 300 pages so he could charge $28 for a book
- Every part has an intro. Every chapter has an intro. Every section in the chapter has an intro. Every section has a recap. Every recap has an intro. He constantly reiterates information from past chapters.
- Really could’ve been written better, I don’t need to know “after this meeting I drove up the road and opened the door. It was breakfast time so I had eggs”
- Unnecessarily difficult to read. Could have been much more concise in his language but throws around big words to prove he’s a superior academic who has a deeper understand of sociology than anyone else
- None of the charts are titled and it’s incredibly annoying. I shouldn’t have to read through the footnotes to understand what he’s trying to say.
It’s not unbiased. Despite him saying he’s just presenting facts he’s constantly inserting his opinion and twisting peoples’ words to fit his narrative.
- He goes out of his way to spin peoples answers into his own opinions. If a rich person says he’s friends with a low-income worker Farrell knows it’s only because of the economics of their working relationship. When a poor person says that they’re grateful for the ultra-rich he states that it’s a canned answer motivated by their desire to work to survive. I have no idea how he claims this is an unbiased book.
- A lot of his “analysis” is just his own biased observations like saying on page 63 that “back of the house and “front of the house” jobs are determined by your race
- He constantly just makes his own inferences and assumptions for people. Like chapter 7 where he creates identities for the people he talks to explain his perception of their personalities. And because he’s a sociology major he must be better equipped to make assumptions of people than anyone else.
I think there’s actually a fair degree of unnecessary criticism of the ultra-rich
- At the end of chapter 2 he says that there’s “a sense of entitlement or assumed privilege of privacy” by contacting all of [the Yellowstone club]… but the members are kind of right. If someone came into your private community to write a hit piece on you and your friends then you would feel your privacy had been infringed upon. Especially for people who live such public lives.
- Asks very uncomfortable questions and then judges people who he puts in this awkward position, often making his own inferences on “what they actually meant” and disregarding their actual words. If someone is shy or stammers he states they’re getting caught in their lie.
There’s a lot of flaws in his arguments (which he’d claim he does not have one, but he clearly does), only a few of which:
- Not a lot of empirical evidence to back up and point made by anyone in this book. It’s all just stories and cherry-picked anecdotes. But I guess that’s sociology.
- I find irony that he mocks the rich for wearing cowboy clothes to fit in with the poor but does his best impression to hide his Wyoming background and boast his Yale education to fit in with the elites. Maybe there’s something there but then again maybe there isn’t.
- His points about the wealthy being entitled are very hypocritical considering he says that they take care of conservation and wildlife efforts than they do the Latino workers in the community. This implies the non-wealthy feel entitled to money from the wealthy.
- A lot of the people in this book are self-made wealthy and he still puts them in a bad light. I can understand judging generational wealth, but the self-made wealthy are exactly why the immigrants in this book came here.
- The low-income people chose to move here specifically because rich people live here. It was their decision. If the wealthy did not move to Jackson then the non-wealthy wouldn’t have either.
There’s a lot of valid points and good dialogue from the non-wealthy interviewees
- I agree with the economic divide and glaring issues in the wealth here. He really just delivered his research and personal opinions so poorly.
- “It’s really important that we recycle here on our way to the private jet”
- Rich people dressing down being referred to as being “in costume” to fit in with the non-wealthy makes sense. Their attitude towards feeling like they’re one of the working man is a fair criticism. But at the same time what would you rather they do? Wear expensive clothes and then criticize them for that?
Overall, I can understand and agree to some aspects of the incredible economic divide on display. There’s a lot of really interesting interviews and valid points made by these people living in poverty next to the richest people in the world. I’m not even on the ultra-rich’s side, however Farrell gets in his own way constantly by inserting his opinion, twisting peoples’ words, and drawing inferences where there are none. I think another author could have given a fairer analysis--while being less hypocritical--and maybe even proposing solutions (something Farrell didn’t do once).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2021
A really thought provoking book on how the American West is being reshaped by wealth. Farrell is a sociology professor, and his fairly academic/writing is a bit more methodical than your average nonfiction book, but the points he makes are excellent. Main themes that make me think include adoption of lower-class styles by wealthy folks to “blend in,” cross class friendship, the role of philanthropy in conservation (or really society at large), and how skewed wealth demographics push the least wealthy to the margins, where in the United States there is no safety net.
July 31, 2023
deep dive into the wealth disparity and pyschology of the ultra rich in jackson hole..i had no idea there was so much money in teton county..the paired interviews with the rich and working poor in the county perfectly illustrated the absolute delusion and hypocrisy of ultra rich
exploration of how the rich use environmental issues/consecrating, mythology of the rural west/cowboy ethos, and working class fashion to ignore/hide the massive income inequality was really interesting
3 stars cause the writing was kind of irritating and repetitive lol
exploration of how the rich use environmental issues/consecrating, mythology of the rural west/cowboy ethos, and working class fashion to ignore/hide the massive income inequality was really interesting
3 stars cause the writing was kind of irritating and repetitive lol
Read
April 11, 2021A riveting and maddening read
September 7, 2024
It’s a very interesting and thought-provoking book. Essentially it’s a ethnographic snapshot of the Jackson Wyoming community. A community made up of ultra high net worth individuals and the sort of support workers that facilitate their lives. It’s almost a prophetic book for the continued income inequality that we seem to be ignoring as a nation. Due to the character of Jackson it is much smaller and it’s already in advance state of the structure.
I’m not a big fan of Marx and I don’t want people to think that’s where I’m coming from, but one of the things I think he got right: left alone capitalism tends to fit a sort of gravitational model where wealth attracts more wealth. And it’s my impression you’re going to see an increase in that trend as long as it remains unchecked. Taxes are like basically a swearword in most conversations today but they are what needs to be used to help redistribute this inequality.
I thought the majority of the book was fascinating and that’s despite the fact that the writing and organization of the ideas stumble around a bit. The book is organized around interview questions the author asks of a variety of people in Jackson. He intersperses these quotes with commentary to pull threads together and try to synthesize his interviews. But at times the structure just doesn’t work. I found myself wanting more interviews at times and more synthesis at others. I also think it’s worth noting that a lot of his questions seem to be leading questions. The reason we have double blind studies is that interviewers can’t influence what they hope the outcome is. If you go in expecting to find class strife, you’re gonna find class strife.
The author also has a habit of repeating impactful quotes to the point where you feel a bit bludgeoned by them. Like I get it, a dude flew around in a helicopter to look at land to “conserve” it’s a fucking portrait in irony. Not that I’m expecting sociology study turned book to have the writing prowess of a piece of classic literature, or one of the things I admire in great writing is its ability to give you a calibrated amount of information in order to get the point across. This at times felt like a Professor talking down to a student he thought was a bit slow.
Now despite these negatives the book is riveting. It’s a study of wealth, worth, justifications, and it comes from a place of impressive candor. I know one of the (many) existential crises I’ve had across my 20s has been this desire to make an impact and live authentically, versus the necessity and desire to make money and be able to provide for myself in those I love. So it’s really interesting to get a view of people who have gone down the investment banking rabbit hole, startup founders, lawyers, adults at the apex of their careers and how they look back. It’s kind of appalling when the curtain is pulled back. Almost like the book “very important people“ about high net worth partying. The trappings of wealth are attractive from a distance but they sure are lame when you get close. Buying a mountain to assuage your conscience it’s some bond villain shit.
I think this book is going to sit in my subconscious for a while and most likely change large decisions that I make cross my life in favor of promotions and career choices. And I think that’s the sign of a really good nonfiction book. I think the most jaw-dropping quote in this whole book is the “You see a lot of charity but very little justice” when talking about philanthropy. Despite the bludgeoning, Highly recommended.
I’m not a big fan of Marx and I don’t want people to think that’s where I’m coming from, but one of the things I think he got right: left alone capitalism tends to fit a sort of gravitational model where wealth attracts more wealth. And it’s my impression you’re going to see an increase in that trend as long as it remains unchecked. Taxes are like basically a swearword in most conversations today but they are what needs to be used to help redistribute this inequality.
I thought the majority of the book was fascinating and that’s despite the fact that the writing and organization of the ideas stumble around a bit. The book is organized around interview questions the author asks of a variety of people in Jackson. He intersperses these quotes with commentary to pull threads together and try to synthesize his interviews. But at times the structure just doesn’t work. I found myself wanting more interviews at times and more synthesis at others. I also think it’s worth noting that a lot of his questions seem to be leading questions. The reason we have double blind studies is that interviewers can’t influence what they hope the outcome is. If you go in expecting to find class strife, you’re gonna find class strife.
The author also has a habit of repeating impactful quotes to the point where you feel a bit bludgeoned by them. Like I get it, a dude flew around in a helicopter to look at land to “conserve” it’s a fucking portrait in irony. Not that I’m expecting sociology study turned book to have the writing prowess of a piece of classic literature, or one of the things I admire in great writing is its ability to give you a calibrated amount of information in order to get the point across. This at times felt like a Professor talking down to a student he thought was a bit slow.
Now despite these negatives the book is riveting. It’s a study of wealth, worth, justifications, and it comes from a place of impressive candor. I know one of the (many) existential crises I’ve had across my 20s has been this desire to make an impact and live authentically, versus the necessity and desire to make money and be able to provide for myself in those I love. So it’s really interesting to get a view of people who have gone down the investment banking rabbit hole, startup founders, lawyers, adults at the apex of their careers and how they look back. It’s kind of appalling when the curtain is pulled back. Almost like the book “very important people“ about high net worth partying. The trappings of wealth are attractive from a distance but they sure are lame when you get close. Buying a mountain to assuage your conscience it’s some bond villain shit.
I think this book is going to sit in my subconscious for a while and most likely change large decisions that I make cross my life in favor of promotions and career choices. And I think that’s the sign of a really good nonfiction book. I think the most jaw-dropping quote in this whole book is the “You see a lot of charity but very little justice” when talking about philanthropy. Despite the bludgeoning, Highly recommended.
November 13, 2023
[audio] At the beginning of this book, I recommended it to a few people I know. I now regret that.
I stumbled upon this book, oddly enough, because I was looking for a book on Anguilla. I have NO clue why this comes up on GoodReads when you're searching for "books on Anguilla."
This gets a woke score of like...9.
There are a lot of reasons I didn't like this book. It was incredibly repetitive - to the point that he repeated exact phrases that he had used from earlier in the book. This was the first time ever that I have audiobooked something and wondered if I had mistakenly rewinded the book. I had not.
The author alleges at the outset that he doesn't have an agenda. This one you can see through immediately. But I really think there's a journalistic integrity issue here. He met with people -rich people - and I think he intentionally misrepresented the purpose of his work. They opened up to them and he took advantage of them repeatedly. He portrayed virtually every hyper-wealthy person the same, as privileged role players who lived inauthentically.
It's odd, though, because you never get attached to anyone. He doesn't go in depth with the interviewees. And he doesn't explicitly advocate for different philanthropy or higher taxes, but that is obviously his angle. It's also obvious that he believes that no one should be THAT rich. He should have led with that (and he wouldn't have gotten the interviews).
He also almost fights with the underprivileged when they tell him they don't begrudge the wealthy for their wealth.
Farrell is a socialist.
This wasn't for me.
I stumbled upon this book, oddly enough, because I was looking for a book on Anguilla. I have NO clue why this comes up on GoodReads when you're searching for "books on Anguilla."
This gets a woke score of like...9.
There are a lot of reasons I didn't like this book. It was incredibly repetitive - to the point that he repeated exact phrases that he had used from earlier in the book. This was the first time ever that I have audiobooked something and wondered if I had mistakenly rewinded the book. I had not.
The author alleges at the outset that he doesn't have an agenda. This one you can see through immediately. But I really think there's a journalistic integrity issue here. He met with people -rich people - and I think he intentionally misrepresented the purpose of his work. They opened up to them and he took advantage of them repeatedly. He portrayed virtually every hyper-wealthy person the same, as privileged role players who lived inauthentically.
It's odd, though, because you never get attached to anyone. He doesn't go in depth with the interviewees. And he doesn't explicitly advocate for different philanthropy or higher taxes, but that is obviously his angle. It's also obvious that he believes that no one should be THAT rich. He should have led with that (and he wouldn't have gotten the interviews).
He also almost fights with the underprivileged when they tell him they don't begrudge the wealthy for their wealth.
Farrell is a socialist.
This wasn't for me.
March 6, 2020
This book is a detailed analysis of the income inequality that exists in Teton County, and highlights many issues that exist on a national scale. This book does a great job of exploring the factors that influence philanthropy in Teton County and should be required reading for anyone working for a non-profit organization in this part of Wyoming.
September 25, 2020
Very academic. Very repetitive. I can't believe I've never clocked the negative of land trusts making less housing available. I'm not sure that the fly fishing guide and the ski bum and the guy at the bar whom the ultra rich are "friends" with are the same people as the ultra poor community building houses and serving coffee.
January 10, 2022
A good book, but could have been better in a few ways, even as an academic book, without going over the bend into polemics.
The biggest takeaway? Land trusts are generally the devil! I've long known how much environmental groups are in bed with money, but this with land trusts, primarily the local ones, but probably indirectly, more and more, involving groups like The Nature Conservancy across all 50 states, is now more stark.
Beyond that?
The good, is above all showing the huge income gap and the even more massive wealth gap in Teton County, Wyoming, followed by multiple hypocrisies of these "malefactors of great wealth." One of them is how they claim to be conservationists, but not only burn massive amounts of money on 10,000 square foot, or MUCH larger McMegaMansions, but much worse, how many of them made their bucks in things like planet-raping oil and gas. The second biggest would probably be that they think, per Trumpianism, that transactional relationships with the hired help really are friendships. Third is probably that they probably truly believe that their conservation based philanthropy, which ignores the local food bank, crisis center and rent hikes, really shows their charitable nature. Fourth is their obliviousness to the realities of Nos. 2-3.
Other good things?
Good in repeatedly noting the self-delusions. However, this is one of several failures to connect the dots better or follow up more. Are those self-delusions always unconscious? Were they at the start, at least? A couple of the ultras indicate that for them personally, they may partially realize they're self-delusional and thus it is conscious to a degree, but that's as far as it knows.
He's on noting the dressing down to "be like the natives." Somewhat notes this reduces in-group competition. Would have been a sidebar, but could have had more on that aspect of the costume wearing. If that particular aspect of sociology isn't his strong point, he is at Yale; get help!
But, Farrell then follows up with the established saying the nouveau riche for Teton are making Jackson Hole another Aspen. Well, there was a time that Aspen wasn’t that.
Good on noting the “ladder-puller-uppers.” Like that above.
But, there are times that, even as an academic, not a polemicist, he either doesn't connect the dots enough, or gave me other hesitations.
One hesitation was near the start. He had me worried at first when he favorably cited Arlie Russell Hochschild. And, no, I'm not a fan of her listening tour book, in part because she seemed totally unconscious to the idea that conservatives would never do such a thing. And, that good non-liberal leftist types know this.
Other missed dot-connecting?
Surprised he didn't explicitly note the ultra-wealthy look at working poor and lower middle class, at least Anglo ones, as "Rousselian noble savages." And, he's a sociology prof. He knows the idea and phrases like that. Why he didn't delve into that explicitly, I don't know. Maybe Yale domesticated him a bit already.
Later in the book, he didn't note that during the "robber baron" era, academics said these robber barons proved the truth of Social Darwinism. It’s even more interesting that he doesn’t mention that, because at places like page 223, when the plutocrats talk about why they’re resented, some go straight to Social Darwinism. Again, he's an academic sociologist; these missed dot-connectings start to look deliberate when repeated. See Hochschild, and liberals vs leftists.
Cites a Rockefeller scion by name early on, but anonymizes another "whose last name is nationally famous and perhaps has exposed him to more public scrutiny about his family's wealth." Why is this one anonymous? That said, is it the same person and was this a slip?
Another not-so-good? Farrell never talks about what not being born “affluent” means to the ultra-wealthy who claim they weren't. Does he have family histories on any of them? From the amount of research he did, with multiple helps, presumably from graduate assistants, I presume he does, and this is another deliberately missed dot connection.
Farrell's lucky, in the end, to get 4 stars instead of 3 and I reserve the right to change this.
==
Update: Michael Mechanic's "Jackpot" (of which I'll have a review in a few days) DOES connect these dots, including explicitly using the phrase "Social Darwinism." He also notes that, contra insinuations by Farrell, the rich, and the children of the rich, have been studied plenty enough in the past for their attitudes toward charity, attitudes toward other people, and more. As for "interviews," well, Mechanic does enough of them himself, and relies on some from the past.
My review of this book, as previously hinted, gets cut to three stars.
The biggest takeaway? Land trusts are generally the devil! I've long known how much environmental groups are in bed with money, but this with land trusts, primarily the local ones, but probably indirectly, more and more, involving groups like The Nature Conservancy across all 50 states, is now more stark.
Beyond that?
The good, is above all showing the huge income gap and the even more massive wealth gap in Teton County, Wyoming, followed by multiple hypocrisies of these "malefactors of great wealth." One of them is how they claim to be conservationists, but not only burn massive amounts of money on 10,000 square foot, or MUCH larger McMegaMansions, but much worse, how many of them made their bucks in things like planet-raping oil and gas. The second biggest would probably be that they think, per Trumpianism, that transactional relationships with the hired help really are friendships. Third is probably that they probably truly believe that their conservation based philanthropy, which ignores the local food bank, crisis center and rent hikes, really shows their charitable nature. Fourth is their obliviousness to the realities of Nos. 2-3.
Other good things?
Good in repeatedly noting the self-delusions. However, this is one of several failures to connect the dots better or follow up more. Are those self-delusions always unconscious? Were they at the start, at least? A couple of the ultras indicate that for them personally, they may partially realize they're self-delusional and thus it is conscious to a degree, but that's as far as it knows.
He's on noting the dressing down to "be like the natives." Somewhat notes this reduces in-group competition. Would have been a sidebar, but could have had more on that aspect of the costume wearing. If that particular aspect of sociology isn't his strong point, he is at Yale; get help!
But, Farrell then follows up with the established saying the nouveau riche for Teton are making Jackson Hole another Aspen. Well, there was a time that Aspen wasn’t that.
Good on noting the “ladder-puller-uppers.” Like that above.
But, there are times that, even as an academic, not a polemicist, he either doesn't connect the dots enough, or gave me other hesitations.
One hesitation was near the start. He had me worried at first when he favorably cited Arlie Russell Hochschild. And, no, I'm not a fan of her listening tour book, in part because she seemed totally unconscious to the idea that conservatives would never do such a thing. And, that good non-liberal leftist types know this.
Other missed dot-connecting?
Surprised he didn't explicitly note the ultra-wealthy look at working poor and lower middle class, at least Anglo ones, as "Rousselian noble savages." And, he's a sociology prof. He knows the idea and phrases like that. Why he didn't delve into that explicitly, I don't know. Maybe Yale domesticated him a bit already.
Later in the book, he didn't note that during the "robber baron" era, academics said these robber barons proved the truth of Social Darwinism. It’s even more interesting that he doesn’t mention that, because at places like page 223, when the plutocrats talk about why they’re resented, some go straight to Social Darwinism. Again, he's an academic sociologist; these missed dot-connectings start to look deliberate when repeated. See Hochschild, and liberals vs leftists.
Cites a Rockefeller scion by name early on, but anonymizes another "whose last name is nationally famous and perhaps has exposed him to more public scrutiny about his family's wealth." Why is this one anonymous? That said, is it the same person and was this a slip?
Another not-so-good? Farrell never talks about what not being born “affluent” means to the ultra-wealthy who claim they weren't. Does he have family histories on any of them? From the amount of research he did, with multiple helps, presumably from graduate assistants, I presume he does, and this is another deliberately missed dot connection.
Farrell's lucky, in the end, to get 4 stars instead of 3 and I reserve the right to change this.
==
Update: Michael Mechanic's "Jackpot" (of which I'll have a review in a few days) DOES connect these dots, including explicitly using the phrase "Social Darwinism." He also notes that, contra insinuations by Farrell, the rich, and the children of the rich, have been studied plenty enough in the past for their attitudes toward charity, attitudes toward other people, and more. As for "interviews," well, Mechanic does enough of them himself, and relies on some from the past.
My review of this book, as previously hinted, gets cut to three stars.
August 21, 2021
Repetitive. Depressing. Very, very worth reading.
August 1, 2025
If I have to hear the word vernier one more time I’m committing myself to the psych ward.
Interesting topic but very poorly written.
Interesting topic but very poorly written.
February 9, 2022
Full rtc but
🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑
🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑
April 6, 2024
3.5 stars
the good: a really important book delving into the insane wealth gap in Jackson, WY, exploring the problems mostly from the perspective of the ultra-wealthy who live there. my favorite chapters were the ones about cowboy cosplay ("we're not like other megarich people, we're the good ones"), as well as how/why they choose to donate to very specific causes (large landscape conservation vs. "buzzkill" issues), and how donation patterns shape community networks, function, and environmental priorities....as well as the sheer hypocrisy of it all.
I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to work in the environmental/conservation advocacy space and wants to gain a sense of the motivations and quirks of the ultra-wealthy who perform environmental philanthropy. because in many cases, it is their motivations and money that shape the priorities of land trusts and local/regional conservation organizations. it was interesting to read about the distribution of non-profits and foundations in the area, how/why the ultra-wealthy choose to donate their money to certain causes, and the broader impacts of these choices on the greater community networks and function of Teton County. It's also worth noting that this issue is not specific to Jackson. Rural towns in beautiful places surrounded by public lands, like Asheville, Boulder, and the Hudson Valley, have all experienced sudden migrations of massive amounts of wealth that are re-shaping their socioeconomic and socio-environmental fabrics. Headwaters Economics published a white paper, "Amenity Trap," on similar issues.
the not so good: execution. insanely repetitive and could have been edited way better. the last few chapters of this book were a struggle. I get it, you went to ~YaLe~ but are also a wyomingan at heart (way to play into the stereotype about bringing up your Yaleiness). also I would have appreciated deeper discussion on the systemic factors (e.g. broader policy decisions and context) that have contributed to the wealth gap. This is explained a bit in the first and last chapters of the book, but I would have appreciated the author tying these concepts back in to the interviews/findings throughout the book. I feel like this would have complemented the monotonous parade of billionaires saying dumb shit. although it was both entertaining and insightful, it eventually became very repetitive and I found myself skimming over a lot of the repetitive interviews.
And although I know the point of the book was to focus on the psychology and experiences of the ultra-wealthy, I feel like the author excessively glossed over the interviews with the working poor and immigrant communities, making it read like a "check-the-box chapter." that chapter of the book (shoved in at the very end) felt like I was reading a college student essay that had been written an hour before the deadline. also this doesn't affect my overall perception of the book, but I didn't appreciate the constant negging of the east coast...mostly this made me want to light the billionaires on fire even more.
the good: a really important book delving into the insane wealth gap in Jackson, WY, exploring the problems mostly from the perspective of the ultra-wealthy who live there. my favorite chapters were the ones about cowboy cosplay ("we're not like other megarich people, we're the good ones"), as well as how/why they choose to donate to very specific causes (large landscape conservation vs. "buzzkill" issues), and how donation patterns shape community networks, function, and environmental priorities....as well as the sheer hypocrisy of it all.
I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to work in the environmental/conservation advocacy space and wants to gain a sense of the motivations and quirks of the ultra-wealthy who perform environmental philanthropy. because in many cases, it is their motivations and money that shape the priorities of land trusts and local/regional conservation organizations. it was interesting to read about the distribution of non-profits and foundations in the area, how/why the ultra-wealthy choose to donate their money to certain causes, and the broader impacts of these choices on the greater community networks and function of Teton County. It's also worth noting that this issue is not specific to Jackson. Rural towns in beautiful places surrounded by public lands, like Asheville, Boulder, and the Hudson Valley, have all experienced sudden migrations of massive amounts of wealth that are re-shaping their socioeconomic and socio-environmental fabrics. Headwaters Economics published a white paper, "Amenity Trap," on similar issues.
the not so good: execution. insanely repetitive and could have been edited way better. the last few chapters of this book were a struggle. I get it, you went to ~YaLe~ but are also a wyomingan at heart (way to play into the stereotype about bringing up your Yaleiness). also I would have appreciated deeper discussion on the systemic factors (e.g. broader policy decisions and context) that have contributed to the wealth gap. This is explained a bit in the first and last chapters of the book, but I would have appreciated the author tying these concepts back in to the interviews/findings throughout the book. I feel like this would have complemented the monotonous parade of billionaires saying dumb shit. although it was both entertaining and insightful, it eventually became very repetitive and I found myself skimming over a lot of the repetitive interviews.
And although I know the point of the book was to focus on the psychology and experiences of the ultra-wealthy, I feel like the author excessively glossed over the interviews with the working poor and immigrant communities, making it read like a "check-the-box chapter." that chapter of the book (shoved in at the very end) felt like I was reading a college student essay that had been written an hour before the deadline. also this doesn't affect my overall perception of the book, but I didn't appreciate the constant negging of the east coast...mostly this made me want to light the billionaires on fire even more.
August 8, 2024
This was an incredible look at the rapid transformation of Jackson that’s mirrored in many towns across the American West. At various times during this book I found myself shocked at how low the bar was for the interview subjects’ idea of what made them “normal people” (on page 60 an interviewee talks about a famous wealthy Jackson resident tying his own son’s shoes and marvels at the idea of it!), annoyed at the frequency of people who had made their money destroying the planet but proclaiming themselves to be environmentalists as they retreat to their enclave in private jets, and discouraged by the excuses given for the unimaginable income gap and lack of action being taken to change it. I do wish the author had done a bit more to get more perspectives of the working class poor and how those folks thought the issues might be resolved, but other than that this was a phenomenal, even if very frustrating, book.
March 30, 2021
Fascinating subject matter. This is a social science book with years of research behind it. Having grown up in the West I had often been to Yellowstone but never Jackson Hole or the Grand Tetons. Last summer when I went I found the town and area fascinating on several levels. That led to a rabbit hole of research and to this book.
This book is less about the history of wealth in the Jackson area and more about the ultra-wealthy themselves. I love that Farrell admits this is not the usual topic for a social science researcher and explains why he thought it important to do the study. With all his research and interviews I felt that I did get a real peek inside the mind of an ultra-wealthy person who settles in Jackson.
Perhaps the best part of reading this book was when my mom was around to hear parts of it and she would get completely disgusted and frustrated. From my point of view, the ultra-wealthy in Wyoming (and parts of Montana) seem almost delusional in their view of the area and its people. They truly think their servants are their friends. And of course, there is something genuinely sad about that but it's hard to be sympathetic to people who complain about how the billionaires are ruining a place for the millionaires.
This frustration got worse in the last part of the book where we finally get to hear from the working poor of Jackson. It seems so clear that the rich are exploiting a mostly immigrant population and care far more about moose and tax break than about the actual community.
The audiobook is well-read and the narrator had this unique way of adding a self-satisfied chuckle that made me even more frustrated with the quotes. There was some repetition and the pace was more plodding but I think this points more to the style and intended audience than anything else. But still an excellent and unique read. I will definitely look differently at Jackson the next time I visit.
I've also been thinking a lot about why they want to disguise their weath
This book is less about the history of wealth in the Jackson area and more about the ultra-wealthy themselves. I love that Farrell admits this is not the usual topic for a social science researcher and explains why he thought it important to do the study. With all his research and interviews I felt that I did get a real peek inside the mind of an ultra-wealthy person who settles in Jackson.
Perhaps the best part of reading this book was when my mom was around to hear parts of it and she would get completely disgusted and frustrated. From my point of view, the ultra-wealthy in Wyoming (and parts of Montana) seem almost delusional in their view of the area and its people. They truly think their servants are their friends. And of course, there is something genuinely sad about that but it's hard to be sympathetic to people who complain about how the billionaires are ruining a place for the millionaires.
This frustration got worse in the last part of the book where we finally get to hear from the working poor of Jackson. It seems so clear that the rich are exploiting a mostly immigrant population and care far more about moose and tax break than about the actual community.
The audiobook is well-read and the narrator had this unique way of adding a self-satisfied chuckle that made me even more frustrated with the quotes. There was some repetition and the pace was more plodding but I think this points more to the style and intended audience than anything else. But still an excellent and unique read. I will definitely look differently at Jackson the next time I visit.
I've also been thinking a lot about why they want to disguise their weath
January 1, 2024
So cringy and hard to finish. Horrible editing. If I had to read the phrase “rarified heights” one more time, I think I would have removed my eyeballs. (This guy went to Yale?!). If you relish reading a very biased book about the often tone-deaf ultra-wealthy who think they are disguising themselves as “normal” people by wearing jeans, drinking beer with locals, and stooping to the level of tying their own child’s shoes (so “down to earth”?!), this may be a book for you. It’s endless on vilification and stigmatization, and offers no proposals or ideas on how to rectify the situation that has caused the income disparity (such as changes in taxation, regulation of conservation easements and land trusts, affordable housing regulation, etc.). Maybe vilification was his point, but it rings empty and I found it to be a waste of time to read.
I have lived for many years in a CO ski resort community experiencing many of the same issues (lack of affordable housing for workforce, land grabs, lack of funding for social service non-profits). I think it’s also important to point out that it’s not only the billionaires at “rarified heights” that are causing these problems, but often the larger population of less-than-billionaires who own second and third homes/condos, etc. Too many residences that are either occupied for only a few weeks a year and otherwise lay dormant, or former long-term rental properties which have been converted into Air BnB’s or other short term rentals - of which there is currently more supply than demand. Incentives to convert short-term rentals into long-term rentals, higher taxes for non-permanent residents and restrictions/increased taxation on short term rentals would be a good start in these places, but it’s too slow in happening. Too bad this author spent his time writing about awful clueless personalities rather than proposing possible solutions to the problems.
I have lived for many years in a CO ski resort community experiencing many of the same issues (lack of affordable housing for workforce, land grabs, lack of funding for social service non-profits). I think it’s also important to point out that it’s not only the billionaires at “rarified heights” that are causing these problems, but often the larger population of less-than-billionaires who own second and third homes/condos, etc. Too many residences that are either occupied for only a few weeks a year and otherwise lay dormant, or former long-term rental properties which have been converted into Air BnB’s or other short term rentals - of which there is currently more supply than demand. Incentives to convert short-term rentals into long-term rentals, higher taxes for non-permanent residents and restrictions/increased taxation on short term rentals would be a good start in these places, but it’s too slow in happening. Too bad this author spent his time writing about awful clueless personalities rather than proposing possible solutions to the problems.
March 28, 2021
Oh the Superrich has ruined it again. This time in Wyoming.
So Wyoming has so much natural oil and gas reserves that it does not have a state income tax. So the Superrich came, bought 15 million dollar homes, join exclusive ski clubs that cordone off acres of land with mostly empty ski-lifts, and employ locals as servers, builders, cleaners, ski instructors and fly-fishing coach. And they dress down like the locals and even talk to them in diners and cafes. And they give to charities. And they buy up the land to conserve them to preserve nature. And they think the locals love them.
Behind all these veneer of Connoisseur Environmentalism, the reality is much harsher. So by buying up the land and limiting its supply, housing prices hit the roof so much so that the millionaires are being pushed out by the billionaires. The poor are mostly immigrants from Mexico whose rent can jump by 40% in a year and thus often live 2-3 families in a trailer. And even the trailer has to go if the land is to be developed. They work 3 jobs and still can’t feed their babies. They are paid little with a raise of 2k over the past 40 years. They are treated as second class citizens (no people of colour in front facing operations in hotels and clubs; they should only work in the kitchen and house keeping). They receive racist remarks especially after a few drinks. The charities sponsored by the rich are concerned mostly about animals, nature and the arts, but not the poor.
The rich needs to become empathetic to the real problems around them. Taxes need to go up.
An eye opener!
So Wyoming has so much natural oil and gas reserves that it does not have a state income tax. So the Superrich came, bought 15 million dollar homes, join exclusive ski clubs that cordone off acres of land with mostly empty ski-lifts, and employ locals as servers, builders, cleaners, ski instructors and fly-fishing coach. And they dress down like the locals and even talk to them in diners and cafes. And they give to charities. And they buy up the land to conserve them to preserve nature. And they think the locals love them.
Behind all these veneer of Connoisseur Environmentalism, the reality is much harsher. So by buying up the land and limiting its supply, housing prices hit the roof so much so that the millionaires are being pushed out by the billionaires. The poor are mostly immigrants from Mexico whose rent can jump by 40% in a year and thus often live 2-3 families in a trailer. And even the trailer has to go if the land is to be developed. They work 3 jobs and still can’t feed their babies. They are paid little with a raise of 2k over the past 40 years. They are treated as second class citizens (no people of colour in front facing operations in hotels and clubs; they should only work in the kitchen and house keeping). They receive racist remarks especially after a few drinks. The charities sponsored by the rich are concerned mostly about animals, nature and the arts, but not the poor.
The rich needs to become empathetic to the real problems around them. Taxes need to go up.
An eye opener!
September 19, 2021
Wealth and poverty meet in the West as gentrification drives out the middle class. The author probes the motives, perceptions, goals, and illusions of the billionaire class as they buy up the beauty spots in the wilds of Wyoming locking others out.
This book is not a polemic against the uber-rich but a penetrative effort to understand them on their own terms as well as the low wage workers who serve them. Also included are discussions of tax and land use policy facilitating these changes and how the larger community as well as the environment is impacted as a result.
I believe this to be an important contribution to the discussion of land use issues in the western United States. And while it piqued my anger towards those who would lock up lands for their own use that was not the author’s purpose. His purpose was to elicit answers to why and how this is happening which arms us to make better decisions going forward.
This book is not a polemic against the uber-rich but a penetrative effort to understand them on their own terms as well as the low wage workers who serve them. Also included are discussions of tax and land use policy facilitating these changes and how the larger community as well as the environment is impacted as a result.
I believe this to be an important contribution to the discussion of land use issues in the western United States. And while it piqued my anger towards those who would lock up lands for their own use that was not the author’s purpose. His purpose was to elicit answers to why and how this is happening which arms us to make better decisions going forward.
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