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Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World

Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World

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  • Create Date：2022-02-19 08:52:09
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  • Author：Peter S. Goodman
  • ISBN：0063078309
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Summary

The New York Times's Global Economics Correspondent masterfully reveals how billionaires' systematic plunder of the world--brazenly accelerated during the pandemic--has transformed 21st-century life and dangerously destabilized democracy。

Davos Man will be read a hundred years from now as a warning。 --EVAN OSNOS

"Excellent。 A powerful， fiery book， and it could well be an essential one。 --NPR。org

The history of the last half century in America， Europe， and other major economies is in large part the story of wealth flowing upward。 The most affluent people emerged from capitalism's triumph in the Cold War to loot the peace， depriving governments of the resources needed to serve their people， and leaving them tragically unprepared for the worst pandemic in a century。

Drawing on decades of experience covering the global economy， award-winning journalist Peter S。 Goodman profiles five representative Davos Men-members of the billionaire class-chronicling how their shocking exploitation of the global pandemic has hastened a fifty-year trend of wealth centralization。 Alongside this reporting， Goodman delivers textured portraits of those caught in Davos Man's wake， including a former steelworker in the American Midwest， a Bangladeshi migrant in Qatar， a Seattle doctor on the front lines of the fight against COVID， blue-collar workers in the tenements of Buenos Aires， an African immigrant in Sweden， a textile manufacturer in Italy， an Amazon warehouse employee in New York City， and more。

Goodman's rollicking and revelatory expos� of the global billionaire class reveals their hidden impact on nearly every aspect of modern society: widening wealth inequality， the rise of anti-democratic nationalism， the shrinking opportunity to earn a livable wage， the vulnerabilities of our health-care systems， access to affordable housing， unequal taxation， and even the quality of the shirt on your back。 Meticulously reported yet compulsively readable， Davos Man is an essential read for anyone concerned about economic justice， the capacity of societies to grapple with their greatest challenges， and the sanctity of representative government。

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Reviews

Carlos Guzman ，

One of the best books I’ve ever read。

Mal Warwick ，

In the prologue to his new book， Peter S。 Goodman explains that “the term Davos Man was coined in 2004 by the political scientist Samuel Huntington。 He used it to describe those so enriched by globalization， so native to its workings， that they were effectively stateless， their interests and wealth flowing across borders， their estates and yachts sprinkled across continents， their arsenal of lobbyists and accountants straddling jurisdictions， eliminating loyalty to any particular nation。” Sittin In the prologue to his new book， Peter S。 Goodman explains that “the term Davos Man was coined in 2004 by the political scientist Samuel Huntington。 He used it to describe those so enriched by globalization， so native to its workings， that they were effectively stateless， their interests and wealth flowing across borders， their estates and yachts sprinkled across continents， their arsenal of lobbyists and accountants straddling jurisdictions， eliminating loyalty to any particular nation。” Sitting in judgment on his subjects， Goodman elaborates on this thesis and updates it for the third decade of the 21st century。 He explains the widening economic inequality in today’s world by examining the work of five billionaires。THE LIE BEHIND THE WORLD’S WIDENING ECONOMIC INEQUALITYGoodman proceeds to explain that the label as used by the political scientist “referred directly to anyone who regularly made the journey to Davos” to attend the annual World Economic Forum。 But， like many others， Goodman uses it “as shorthand for those who occupy the stratosphere of the globe-trotting class， the billionaires—predominantly white and male—who wield unsurpassed influence over the political realm while promoting a notion that has captured decisive force across major economies: when the rules are organized around greater prosperity for those who already enjoy most of it， everyone’s a winner。”FIVE MEN， AND FIVE COUNTRIES， IN THE SPOTLIGHTTo illustrate how this tiny， often anonymous group of billionaires has managed to amass such riches while impoverishing untold millions of the rest of us， Goodman develops his narrative around five individual men and explores their impact in five countries。 The five men are Internet entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos （Amazon） and Mark Benioff （Salesforce）， banker Jamie Dimon （JPMorgan Chase）， private equity investor Stephen Schwartzman （Blackstone）， and investment manager Larry Fink （BlackRock）。 The five countries Goodman most closely examines are the United States， the United Kingdom， Italy， France， and Sweden。 As he makes clear， the overwhelming majority of people in all five countries have suffered enormously as a result of the business practices of those five men—above all， their unceasing effort to avoid paying taxes。A THESIS MARRED BY THREE FLAWSWhile I concur with almost every charge Goodman hurls at “Davos Man，” it’s hard for me to see how much of what he writes applies as broadly as he suggests。 In the final analysis， Davos Man comes across as the story of a vast global conspiracy led by a few thousand billionaires to plunder the planet and consign the rest of us to penury。 Some of these men are called “vulture capitalists。” Goodman seems to imply that they all merit the label。 To be specific， the book strikes me as flawed in at least three significant ways。COMPETING FACTIONS“Davos Man” is a concept rather than a term that applies precisely to a well-defined group or class of people。 Throughout the text， Goodman implies that they’re all billionaires， although he wavers on the point from time to time。 Others， such as Bill Clinton and Emanuel Macron， who also frequently attend the World Economic Forum， are “Davos collaborators” who help carry out the billionaires’ agenda。 But surely this oversimplifies the reality， at best。The world’s nearly 3，000 billionaires， and the 3，000 people from nearly 110 countries who attend the Davos conference， are in no way a monolithic group。 There are competing factions among them。 For example， some favor resolute action to combat the climate crisis; others oppose it。 Some strenuously denounce the would-be autocrats who have emerged in the West in recent years; others support them。 And the attendees， even those who are billionaires， may even fund shooting wars against one another。 However， it’s true enough that they seem to agree on one central theme: they all work overtime to avoid paying taxes。 In that respect alone， the “Davos Man” concept holds water。IDEOLOGYGoodman seems to imply that the people who qualify as “Davos Men” act purely out of self-interest which translates easily into greed。 But many of these folks actually believe the nonsense they espouse—the approach to economic policymaking Goodman sums up as the “Cosmic Lie。” That’s the proposition that cutting taxes on rich people and corporations will trickle down to the rest of us and be good for society in short order。 Of course， four decades of experience in the United States have shown uncontrovertibly that this is ridiculous。 Trickle-down economics simply doesn’t work。 Despite the abundant evidence that the theory is flat-out wrong， many people believe it。 Just because they’re rich doesn’t mean they’re smart。 Clever in most cases， yes。 But not necessarily capable of parsing economic data without focusing exclusively on what’s in it for them。STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISMThe author reserves a large measure of his venom for stakeholder capitalism—an approach to corporate management that seeks to share a company’s gains among all its stakeholders。 Which means that shareholders are considered merely one of several groups to benefit—contrary to the prevailing mode in business which revolves around shareholder primacy。 Goodman rails against the declaration on August 19， 2019， by the Business Roundtable redefining the “purpose of a corporation。” Overturning its 22-year-old policy that held maximizing shareholder return as a company’s highest purpose， they asserted that “companies should serve not only their shareholders， but also deliver value to their customers， invest in employees， deal fairly with suppliers and support the communities in which they operate。” All five billionaires Goodman singles out signed this declaration。As Goodman points out with undisguised animus， “you could call hotel maids ‘stakeholders’ or ‘highly valued associates’ or whatever you pleased， but when the bottom line was under attack， they became costs to be ruthlessly eliminated。” He goes on to note that “hardly any of the signatories to the Business Roundtable’s statement gained approval from their governing boards for committing to stakeholder capitalism。 That fact alone laid bare that the document was really a ploy。” Without question， Goodman’s on solid ground to challenge the hypocrisy of most of the giant corporations that constitute the Global Roundtable。 The signatories to the statement include such predatory employers as Amazon and Walmart。 For them， a commitment to stakeholder capitalism is a species of greenwashing。 But he’s dead wrong to reject stakeholder capitalism as practiced by Salesforce， whose Mark Benioff also signed the declaration—and by many thousands of other， smaller corporations。A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVEStakeholder capitalism represents a huge step beyond the ruthless corporate practices that have driven a wedge between rich and poor in our society and made life more challenging for us all。 Goodman describes those practices in gleeful detail in the pages of Davos Man。 He is either unaware， or simply chooses to ignore， how companies large and small have rejected shareholder primacy。 I’ve been involved in the movement for socially responsible business since 1990 and know a great deal about this subject。 To learn how thousands of companies around the world—including my own firm， Mal Warwick Donordigital—are undertaking earnest efforts to implement stakeholder capitalism， check out the growing number of B Corps you can find here。 And to see how the principles we’ve elaborated are now becoming embedded in corporate law， take a look at the 21st century innovation called the benefit corporation。ABOUT THE AUTHORPeter S。 Goodman is the European economics correspondent for the New York Times。 Previously， he worked for the Washington Post and the Huffington Post and served as editor of the International Business Times。 He is a graduate of Reed College。 Davos Man is his second book。 。。。more

Joe Stack ，

This book is an expose of how national economies are being manipulated to favor the rich and powerful， including the favorable sounding euphanisms to gain public support。 The author does not focus solely on the U。S。 He also provides examples from Italy， Britain， France， Norway， & Finland。Very readable， clearly presented， this is a troubling book。 Troubling because of the author’s expose。 Troubling because the corrective fixes are not complicated， just goes against the current thinking of those i This book is an expose of how national economies are being manipulated to favor the rich and powerful， including the favorable sounding euphanisms to gain public support。 The author does not focus solely on the U。S。 He also provides examples from Italy， Britain， France， Norway， & Finland。Very readable， clearly presented， this is a troubling book。 Troubling because of the author’s expose。 Troubling because the corrective fixes are not complicated， just goes against the current thinking of those in power and the leading think tanks。 Troubling because critics who do not subscribe to the author’s views can easily turn readers away from this book by saying the author’s analysis and his interpretation of current economic philosophy and associated legislative policies is misinformed and biased。This reader believes the accumulation of wealth is not inherently a bad thing。 When the accumulation is done unfairly， at the expense of others， then there’s a problem needing fixing。 With some history， some economics， interviews， the author lays out how and why there is a problem needing fixing。Readers who believe corporations and the wealthy deserve economic policies that enrich them and that the benefits will trickle down will likely not like this book。 Readers who believe otherwise will not be surprised with what they’ll read。 They may be surprised with the immensity of the benefits to the wealthy from the manipulation of the economies of the different nations the author discusses。 The author keeps this book current with chapters explaining how the wealthy made money off the COVID pandemic。 He even shows a connection between the money made by the wealthy and the shortages of protective gear and the supply chain issues。I think this is an important book and should be read by any one who is concerned by the increasing income & wealth gap。 As troubling the book may be， the author does provide examples of corrective measures。 The concluding two chapters are important because of the glimmer of hope the author presents。If you’re not sure about reading this book， here are some of the author’s observations that may pique your interest into reading it:“The shape of our economies is not the product of happenstance。 It is the result of deliberative engineering by the people who constructed the system in the service of their own interests。” 。 。 。 Davos Man has “sold austerity as a virtue 。 。 。 deregulated banking， boosting their compensation， while triggering a global financial crises。 Then they bailed themselves out and sent the bill to ordinary citizens。” 。 。 。 Trump’s tax cut， “artfully entitled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” was “economic redistribution—from the bottom up 。 。 。 With the wealthiest 1 percent of households capturing the largest gains。 。 。 。 By 2027， Americans earning between $40，000 and $50，000 per year would find themselves paying a collective $5。3 billion more in taxes， while people earning $1 million and more would still be savoring cuts reaching $5。8 billion。” 。 。 。 “Over the last four decades， the wealthiest 1 percent of all Americans has gained a collective $22 trillion in wealth。 Over the same period， households in the bottom half have seen their fortunes diminish by $900 billion。 。 。 。 Since 1978， corporate executive compensation exploded by more than 900 percent， while wages of typical Americans rose less than 12 percent。” 。 。 。 Between 2006 and 2015， 18 American pharmaceutical companies spent 99% of their profits on dividends to shareholders and buying back their own shares， increasing the value of shares。 $516 billion went to shareholders while $465 billion was spent on R&D。 。 。 。 While laying off workers （during the pandemic）， “Marriott paid out $160 million in dividends， an amount that could have paid more than 5，000 maids for 6 months。” 。 。 。 “By 2000， wages throughout American retail had been reduced by $14。5 billion a year as a result of Walmart driving down pay and decimating competitors。 This was a neat transfer of wealth from working people to shareholders—one justified by the benefits for the consumer。” 。 。 。 “A year into the pandemic， COVID had killed more than HSA a million Americans， while more than 78 million had lost jobs。 Over the same period， American billionaires - a group fewer than 700 people - had gained a collective $1。3 trillion in wealth。” 。 。 。 “The billionaires had mastered a recipe for moral alchemy， passing off what was lucrative for them as beneficial for society， even as the evidence mounted that they were accumulating their wealth at the direct expense of the rest of the populace。 “ 。 。 。 “The Davos Man has rendered efforts to share the wealth as attacks on freedom，” employing “the mechanisms of democracy to sabotage democratic ideals。”These excerpts just give an idea about the book， and you may think the author is anti-capitalism， but he isn’t。 In his “Conclusion，” he writes， “Global capitalism is indeed the most advanced form of economic organization。 It promotes the inspiration and exchange of groundbreaking ideas that have extended and improved life。 It produces more wealth， which is a hell of a lot better than the alternative。 What capitalism lacks is an inherent mechanism that justly distributes the gains。 That is the responsibility of government， operating under a democratic mandate。” 。。。more

Zach Feig ，

Because I heard Peter Goodman speak on a podcast。 On podcast his ideas were interesting and I wanted to hear more so I read his book。Unfortunately the book suffered from the lack of moderation from one of my favorite podcast hosts。。。 The book was fine， but strongly opinionated and failed to sufficiently justify the stance as he was taking。 I'm not necessarily saying I disagreeed， just that I didn't feel like I had enough information to effectively evaluate his claims。 The parts of this book that Because I heard Peter Goodman speak on a podcast。 On podcast his ideas were interesting and I wanted to hear more so I read his book。Unfortunately the book suffered from the lack of moderation from one of my favorite podcast hosts。。。 The book was fine， but strongly opinionated and failed to sufficiently justify the stance as he was taking。 I'm not necessarily saying I disagreeed， just that I didn't feel like I had enough information to effectively evaluate his claims。 The parts of this book that were most interesting were the parts that I was already most familiar with nominally healthcare and universal basic income。 In those areas I knew enough to engage with the content。 Global finance and supply chain issues though， I know much less about。All in all moderately interesting， good for sparking your righteous liberal anger， but there are better books from other authors vand better content from this author to engage with。 。。。more

Paula ，

A bit overlong， but very informative。

Ann Armstrong ，

The book is a well-argued indictment of the billionaire class。 More importantly， it makes clear that billionaires do rule the world and they do not care about us， even if they utter sanctimonious bromides。 In short， a frightening tale of what Goodman correctly calls the “Cosmic Lie”。

Lisa ，

I was looking forward to reading this book。 Peter Goodman is a good writer。 Unfortunately， this book is just too long and gets boring。 The ideas could be summed up。 Essentially， the system is rigged and the billiionaires are cheating the rest of us。

Adam Bricker ，

*received as part of a First-reads giveaway*Basically the point of this book is really "how much is enough？" If you pay any attention at all， you've likely seen the economy and society in general experiencing inequality increasing with leaps and bounds。。。this book delves into some of the whys。 From tax breaks to tax loopholes to lining pockets to just flat out exploitation， we can see why， what used to be the middle class， really doesn't exist anymore。 I thought I was ready to be angered and fru *received as part of a First-reads giveaway*Basically the point of this book is really "how much is enough？" If you pay any attention at all， you've likely seen the economy and society in general experiencing inequality increasing with leaps and bounds。。。this book delves into some of the whys。 From tax breaks to tax loopholes to lining pockets to just flat out exploitation， we can see why， what used to be the middle class， really doesn't exist anymore。 I thought I was ready to be angered and frustrated， but to see the actual numbers， while when talking in hundreds of millions/billions of dollars is really incomprehensible， it surpassed my expectations。 As long as you can accept critiques of various governments （individuals at the head of them） and the way they mishandle various situations with the guise of doing the best for their nations while really trying to increase their own power， status and wealth。。。give this book a go！ 。。。more

Kyle Horton ，

An excellent analysis of the systematic plundering of society by the wealthy supported by many， many examples both new and old。 An astounding read overall。

Pablo Podhorzer ，

Goodman's incredibly innacurate account of Argentina's 20th Century history puts the entire book in perspective。 He accuses Peronism of being the main government in the past century and guilty of "populist" overspending when in the real world right wing American backed conservative dictatorships shaped the country and destroyed its economy time and again。 He depicts neocon Macri as an educated technocrat， in the real world Macri is the son of a dictatorship favored family who can barely read a s Goodman's incredibly innacurate account of Argentina's 20th Century history puts the entire book in perspective。 He accuses Peronism of being the main government in the past century and guilty of "populist" overspending when in the real world right wing American backed conservative dictatorships shaped the country and destroyed its economy time and again。 He depicts neocon Macri as an educated technocrat， in the real world Macri is the son of a dictatorship favored family who can barely read a straight sentence。If these basic known facts are wrong， what else has he fabricated？ Is this only a hit job between two factions of global oligarchs？ 。。。more

Tyler Jared ，

A sharp polemic on the devastation wrought by a specific sect of the billionaire class the author calls the “Davis Man”。 These billionaires， awash in hypocrisy， envision themselves as beneficiaries of nothing other than their own hard work， and not as the lucky products of several decades worth of work to make it easier for the rich to get and stay richer at the expense of the rest of the world。 It’s sobering and sad that the answers （higher taxes， UBI） to these problems （monopolization， inequal A sharp polemic on the devastation wrought by a specific sect of the billionaire class the author calls the “Davis Man”。 These billionaires， awash in hypocrisy， envision themselves as beneficiaries of nothing other than their own hard work， and not as the lucky products of several decades worth of work to make it easier for the rich to get and stay richer at the expense of the rest of the world。 It’s sobering and sad that the answers （higher taxes， UBI） to these problems （monopolization， inequality， corruption， and undue influence over the political outcomes of the USA） are obvious but seemingly unreachable because of how already broken the system is… 。。。more

Zack Fraga ，

This is a good book。 It’s a little preachy and by the end， the message is fairly one dimensional。 However， this book is very important because it details how exactly global financial interests have come to control power in ways that suit their interests。 The level of detail and sourcing is phenomenal， and he weaves a fairly interesting story by the anecdotes he chooses。 I would definitely recommend for all to read。 The one area he doesn’t seem to consider is how much influence institutions like This is a good book。 It’s a little preachy and by the end， the message is fairly one dimensional。 However， this book is very important because it details how exactly global financial interests have come to control power in ways that suit their interests。 The level of detail and sourcing is phenomenal， and he weaves a fairly interesting story by the anecdotes he chooses。 I would definitely recommend for all to read。 The one area he doesn’t seem to consider is how much influence institutions like his namesake NYT have on these problems。 Weeks after publication， NYT was ironically buying back its own stock。 He rightly goes after right-wing trickle down lies and the phenomenon of Trumpism， but what is missing is the critical flip of the Democratic Party to abandon its workers and abandon labor in favor of global finance and social justice campaigns。 Moreover， this was propelled by the very media interests who were all but blinding the public to the dramatic changes in left wing policy。 In essence， its disappointing that he mostly just goes after the Right。 This story should include legacy media and left wing social policy as tools of Davos’ agenda。 。。。more

Marie ，

By the end of 2020， the collective wealth of billionaires worldwide had increased by 3。9 trillion as philanthropic contributions fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade。Over the same year， as many as 500 million people descended into poverty。Davos men wielded their influence and tilted the workings of capitalism in their favor。 Embracing privatization as a solution and placing public goods in the hands of profit making companies。 They influenced the cutting of education， housing and health By the end of 2020， the collective wealth of billionaires worldwide had increased by 3。9 trillion as philanthropic contributions fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade。Over the same year， as many as 500 million people descended into poverty。Davos men wielded their influence and tilted the workings of capitalism in their favor。 Embracing privatization as a solution and placing public goods in the hands of profit making companies。 They influenced the cutting of education， housing and health care and funneled the spoils of this liquidation to themselves through tax cuts。 Forging international trade deals， assaulting labor unions and transferring work to low wage countries。 Deregulation of banks while bailing themselves out and sending the bill to ordinary citizens。Over the last 40 years， the wealthiest 1 percent of all Americans has gained a collective $21 trillion in wealth while households in the bottom half have seen their fortunes diminish by $900 billion。Corporate executives have seen their compensation rise by more than 900% while wages for the typical American worker have risen by less than 12%。Worldwide the 10 richest people are collectively worth more than the economies of the poorest 85 countries combined。During the Clinton admin8istration， the Treasury allowed a loophole that enabled executives to set up subsidiaries in foreign countries to evade taxes in America。Tax bills for corporations plunged from over 35% to less than 26% while results in $60 billion a year in lost taxes。Amazon founder， Jeff Bezos， state of principles needs to include amassing monopoly power and applying it to crush competitors， relentlessly squeezing workers for productivity， and gaming the tax system to avoid surrendering money to the government。 。。。more

Thomas Lennek ，

I won this Advanced Readers Copy on Goodreads。 READ THIS BOOK！ A powerful indictment of the Billionaire class and how they've used their money to influence policies and laws （especially tax laws） to become ever richer at the expense of workers， fellow citizens and customer/consumers。 Other countries have examples of similar problems - France and Sweden are highlighted。 FAIR WARNING: This is a hard book to read。 If you are a fan or follower of the "Rock Star" CEOs- Jamie Dimon， Mark Benioff， Larr I won this Advanced Readers Copy on Goodreads。 READ THIS BOOK！ A powerful indictment of the Billionaire class and how they've used their money to influence policies and laws （especially tax laws） to become ever richer at the expense of workers， fellow citizens and customer/consumers。 Other countries have examples of similar problems - France and Sweden are highlighted。 FAIR WARNING: This is a hard book to read。 If you are a fan or follower of the "Rock Star" CEOs- Jamie Dimon， Mark Benioff， Larry Fink and others --you know， the interviewees of the talking heads on the Morning Business shows-- some of the revelations are shocking and disappointing。 15 Chapters describe what they've done to Financial Markets （think 2007-08 meltdown） Public Health and big Pharma -Corona Virus Pandemic， and social safety net。 Those chapters are ugly。 The last four chapters and conclusion provide some possible solutions， but they essentially pale in light of the forces available to the billionaires （think of Josef Stalin asking "how many divisions the Pope" had when told the Pope was against Hitler）。 This should be a Call to Action。 。。。more

Dilara Ucar ，

Infuriating。 I found it really interesting to learn about different people in the Davos circle。 Some parts felt circular in argument but overall great book。

Emily Hewitt ，

I won an uncorrected proof version of this book through Goodreads Giveaways。 I liked it and found it to be very interesting and timely/current， but I don’t know if I am the most qualified person to rate and review it。 I grasped all the themes and messages of the book and understood the author’s overall arguments， but I feel like I wasn’t fully comprehending important details and stories。 I honestly don’t have a strong understanding of economics and even though I pay my taxes every year and put m I won an uncorrected proof version of this book through Goodreads Giveaways。 I liked it and found it to be very interesting and timely/current， but I don’t know if I am the most qualified person to rate and review it。 I grasped all the themes and messages of the book and understood the author’s overall arguments， but I feel like I wasn’t fully comprehending important details and stories。 I honestly don’t have a strong understanding of economics and even though I pay my taxes every year and put money into my 401K， I don’t really know anything about bonds， shares， investments， or the stock market。 What I did take away from this book though is that over the past 60-70 years the rich have only gotten richer while the middle class and lower income classes have struggled to achieve the American Dream and live debt-free。 I also have to admit that the author is very left wing and doesn’t attempt to hide his liberal political beliefs。 While this biased viewpoint will probably annoy some readers， it didn’t personally bother me。 I still found the book to be factual and well-researched。I really liked how the book was divided into three parts。 Essentially the first part is an introduction to Davos Man and explains how so many billionaires have attained their wealth and managed to exploit others in the process。 The second part focuses on the pandemic and emphasizes how even though thousands of people have died from COVID over the past 2 years， many billionaires have managed to double their net worth。 The third part is about possible solutions to the extreme income equalities across the world and discusses ways that local governments and politicians are currently trying to fix it。 The author ultimately argues that billionaires will always try to exploit the system no matter what， but governments and citizens can （and should） do more to stop them。 。。。more

Sherrie ，

***I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway***If you think the title is forceful， you should see the rest of the book。 The author pulls no punches and does not even attempt to hide his disdain for the billionaire class and their shenanigans。 This would have ruined the book for me had it not been so well researched with every section backed up by facts， figures， and first hand accounts。 Peter Goodman has been attending he Davos Economic Forum for years now and writing about international economics ***I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway***If you think the title is forceful， you should see the rest of the book。 The author pulls no punches and does not even attempt to hide his disdain for the billionaire class and their shenanigans。 This would have ruined the book for me had it not been so well researched with every section backed up by facts， figures， and first hand accounts。 Peter Goodman has been attending he Davos Economic Forum for years now and writing about international economics for even longer。 He knows his stuff。 Every tidbit that felt too ridiculous to be true， I fact checked and。。。he was right。 Every time。 I don't always agree with his opinions， but I will give him all the credit for stating the facts。 I appreciated the final section of the book which focused heavily on what can be done。 He breaks down different tax approaches， universal basic income， changes to welfare programs， and other options。 They all boil down to this。。。assume the billionaires are going to cheat and lie and pressure them anyway。 They'll still pull shenanigans but we can try to minimize it。 。。。more

✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight ，

Recommended by Sirota。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0