{"product_id":"richistan-a-journey-through-the-american-wealth-boom-and-the-lives-of-the-new-rich-9780307339263","title":"Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe rich have always been different from you and me  but this revealing and funny journey through Richistan entertainingly shows that they are more different than ever. Richistanis have 400-foot-yachts  30 000-square-foot homes  house staffs of more than 100  and their own arborists. Theyre also different from Old Money  and have torn down blue-blood institutions to build their own shining empire. Richistan is like the best travel writing  full of colorful and interesting stories providing insights into exotic locales. Robert Frank has been loitering on the docks of yacht marinas  pestering his way into charity balls  and schmoozing with real estate agents selling mega-houses to capture the story of the twenty-first centurys nouveau riche:  House-training the rich. People with new wealth have to be taught how to act like  well  proper rich people. Just in the nick of time  theres been a boom in the number of newly trained butlershousehold managerswho will serve just the right cabernet when a Richistanis new buddies from Palm Beach stop by.  My boat is bigger than your boat. Only in Richistan would a 100-foot-boat be considered a dinghy. Personal pleasure craft have started to rival navy destroyers in size and speed. Richistan is also a place where friends make fun of those misers who buy the new girlfriend a mere Mercedes SLK.  You want my money? Prove that youre helping the needy! Richistanis are not only consuming like crazy  theyre also shaking up the establishments bureaucratic  slow-moving charity network  making lean  results-oriented philanthropy an important new driving force.  Move over  Christian Coalition. Richistanis are more Democratic than Republican  fed up and not going to take it anymore  and willing to spend millions to get progressive-oriented politicians elected.  My name is Mike and Im rich. Think that money is the answer? Think again as Robert Frank explores the emotional complexities of wealth.  And  as Robert Frank reveals  there is not one Richistan but three: Lower  Middle  and Upper  each of which has its own levels and distinctions of wealth the haves and the have-mores. The influence of Richistan and the Richistanis extends well beyond the almost ten million households that make up its population  as the nonstop quest for status and an insatiable demand for luxury goods reshapes the entire American economy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67598838169653,"sku":"ByrdShop_0307339262","price":20.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780307339263.jpg?v=1790935074","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/richistan-a-journey-through-the-american-wealth-boom-and-the-lives-of-the-new-rich-9780307339263","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}