Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live—and How Their Wealth Harms Us All

Mother Jones senior editor Mechanic debuts with a unique look at the “social, psychological, and societal complications that come with great affluence and the reality that so few possess it.” Relating the stories of people who have inherited a fortune, won the lottery, or hit some other type of “jackpot,” Mechanic notes the awkwardness of having “long-lost friends and relations come out of the woodwork seeking handouts,” and explains that no longer having a financial incentive to work can leave one feeling “unmoored.” He describes $500 T-shirts and concierge medical services that cost as much as $40,000 per year, but cites evidence that people’s sense of how well they’re doing in life stops improving once they hit the “satiation point” of $105,000 in annual earnings. Mechanic also takes a skeptical view of “grand philanthropic gestures” made by billionaires who avoid taxes and underpay their workers, discusses the influence of money on politics, and sketches the origins of the “wealth fantasy” in American culture. Mechanic’s nuanced perspective on wealth accumulation offers fresh insights, though he spends more time chronicling success stories than analyzing the structural forces that rig the economy in favor of the affluent. Still, this is an intriguing look at the boons and burdens of wealth. (Apr.)