Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America

by David Callahan

Packed with fascinating data that paints a provocative picture of the new rich In Fortunes of Change , David Callahan contends that something big is happening among the rich in they’re drifting to the left. When Callahan set out to write a book on the new upper class, he expected to profile a greedy and reactionary elite—the robber barons of a second Gilded Age. Instead, he discovered something else. While many of the rich still back a GOP that stands against taxes and regulation, liberalism is spreading fast among the wealthy. In Fortunes of Change , we meet an upper class increasingly filled with super-educated professionals and entrepreneurs who work in “knowledge” industries and live in the bluest parts of America. This cosmopolitan elite takes for granted such key liberal ideas as multiculturalism and active government, and have ever less in common with an extremist GOP based in small-town America and dominated by Tea Party activists and the likes of Sarah Palin. Fortunes of Change Packed with surprising facts and behind-the-scene stories, Fortunes of Change is a must-read book if want to understand how America's politics and culture are changing—and what the future may hold.

Genres: Politics

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit repetitive but contained some useful insights as to how many of contemporary America's wealthiest citizens are different than the rich of the past. On the other hand, it may already be dated. In the wake of the financial crisis, as Obama started speaking more harshly of many in the financial industry, many rich people who gave predominantly to Democrats in the past election cycle seem poised to swing the opposite way in 2012 (e.g. John Paulson). However, I think the fundamental thesis of the book is more or less sound.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting - and somewhat self-serving - look at the changes in interests and political funding over the last 50 years or so. This book looks at the size and political impact of the accumulation of "new" or inherited fortunes as they differ from the "Old Rich" from a more industrial age. It also explores some possible reasons that the enormous fortunes being accumulated today tend to identify with the Democratic Party and its initiatives as well as their impact on political elections in the US. Depends on your own beliefs whether this is a hopeful or depressing trend.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would have made a good New Yorker article, but it was too long and repetitive.