on wealth vs labor and ownership vs effort
Who is rich in America, and why?
A review of “The Everywhere Millionaire” by Zidar and Zwick
The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There
From two leading economists comes a groundbreaking new portrait of the hidden fortunes of Main Street business owners—ordinary Americans who built extraordinary wealth and are quietly rewriting the rules of money and power. Most people think the path to great wealth runs through Wall Street or Silicon Valley. We’re told you must be a Zuckerberg, a Musk, or a Jamie Dimon to get rich. But this story is wrong. Drawing on unprecedented data from a decade of research and vivid real-life stories of entrepreneurs—from a self-made hot-dog stand billionaire to the heirs of an auto dealer—Zidar and Zwick reveal a surprising truth: prosperity is more attainable, more widely distributed, and closer to home than we imagine. A multitude of Americans have built staggering fortunes by running often unglamorous businesses far from the spotlight. A quiet revolution in the business world—the rise of “pass-through” firms like S-corporations and partnerships—supercharged this wealth, channeling vast income directly to business owners rather than traditional corporations.Part economic detective story, part roadmap to riches, this book reveals: —The Hidden 1%: They might be a local beer distributor, a dentist with a regional network of practices, a commercial HVAC contractor with trucks around town, or a restaurateur who keeps opening new locations. For every public company CEO, more than a thousand private business owners each have transformational wealth.— The Blueprint for Wealth: Zidar and Zwick describe where Main Street Millionaires come from, how they grew rich, and how much money they make. Their stories suggest the American Dream is not dead and many paths to prosperity remain open today. — Power Brokers: Armed with their fortunes, Main Street Millionaires wield power in city halls, statehouses, and Washington, often bending policy to protect what they’ve built. They are both growing the economic pie and grabbing bigger slices for themselves.The Everywhere Millionaire celebrates the stories of entrepreneurs who seized opportunities while asking hard questions about how concentrated wealth and power shape society. It is an essential guide to seeing the economy as it really is and recognizing the surprising paths to prosperity—and influence—everywhere.
Passive Income Ideas That Actually Work (No, You Don't Need to Be Rich First)
Explore practical passive income ideas that can generate revenue even while you sleep. Start today with the right approach.
America's Growth Ponzi Scheme | Strong Towns
The American pattern of development creates the illusion of wealth. Today we are in the process of seeing that illusion destroyed…and with it the prosperity we have come to take for granted.
How To Be Successful
I’ve observed thousands of founders and thought a lot about what it takes to make a huge amount of money or to create something important. Usually, people start off wanting the former and end up...
Has America Wasted Its Wealth?
On Modern Philanthropy, And Why We Don't Have A Modern Florence
The Climb: Wealth Inequality in America, to scale
Picture U.S. wealth as stacks of $100 bills: the median household’s is about 9 inches tall. The average top-1% household’s is 145 feet, and it keeps getting taller and taller…
Do the Rich Capture All the Gains from Economic Growth?
Adjusted for inflation, the US economy has more than doubled in real terms since 1975.
Why the super rich are inevitable
Why some mathematicians argue the economy is designed to create a few super rich people – unless we stop it.
Why The Rich Think The Poor Are Lazy
Is Inequality Inevitable?
Wealth naturally trickles up in free-market economies, model suggests
Get the Money out of Politics
There’s a really simple way of ensuring that politics belongs to the people, not to the ultra-rich.
$1 Trillion of Wealth Was Created for the 19 Richest U.S. Households Last Year
Total household wealth for the richest 19 U.S. households jumped to about $2.6 trillion in 2024, after the biggest one-year increase on record.
The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90%—And That's Made the U.S. Less Secure
A report shows that a $50 trillion redistribution of income to benefit the richest has made America less healthy, resilient, and secure
annotations: A propos de la super-implication des super-riches dans la politique américaine
Blog de sciences économiques et sociales de Martin Anota. Traductions, revues de presse.
The American Black Bourgeoisie, a story
*The American Black Bourgeoisie is affirmed on this date in 1619. They are America’s Black upper class based on financial income. The Black Bourgeoisie comprises engineers, lawyers, accountants, doctors, politicians, business executives, venture capitalists, CEOs, celebrities, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and heirs with annual incomes of $200,000 or more. This social class sometimes referred to as the […]
