In this smug paean to extreme wealth, Jones, founder of Worth
magazine, identifies the Richest Man in Town in 100 American cities and towns, and gathers their secrets of success. The profiled “RMITs” range from household names like Bill Gates to the lesser-known Fred DeLuca, founder of Subway; Bob Stiller, founder of Green Mountain Coffee; and Jorge Perez, real estate mogul and most successful Latino man in the country. The collected advice is organized as 12 hackneyed “commandments”: “find your passion,” “be your own boss,” “say yes to sales” and “work through obstacles,” with small examples throughout. Given the paucity of usable advice, it's hard to imagine who the audience would be for a book compiling the mantras of a group of people whose average net worth is $3.5 billion. This book might inspire some readers to go forth and live the American dream—as Jones points out, fully 90% of all wealth in America today is first-generation wealth, and all the subjects in the book are self-made—if they can endure the self-congratulatory tone. (May)
