How to Make a Million Dollars an Hour: Why Hedge Funds Get Away with Siphoning Away America’s Wealth

As the average American struggles to keep up with the costs of basic necessities, top hedge fund managers earn 20,000 times more per year than the average pediatrician. Leopold (The Looting of America) is fired up about this gross inequality. While some readers may find his impassioned claims sensational, he meticulously cites reputable sources and fuels the reader’s fire at the same time. He cites annual and hourly income for the mega-rich such as Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and Elton John, whose fortunes pale in comparison to top hedge-fund managers, some of whom earn millions of dollars per hour. Leopold offers a sardonic list of dos and don’ts for wannabe hedge fund managers such as “Don’t worry if wealth gushes to the top. That’s just more money for your casinos.” Despite the hoopla, Leopold offers insight into the barely regulated realm that controls much of the country’s wealth, describing such methods as jumping ahead of average investors’ trades to buy securities before average investors do, and then sell to these same investors at a higher price. Unfortunately, Leopold doesn’t provide many suggestions on how the system can be changed to create a more balanced playing field. (Feb.)