Meet the Billionaires: the 1,645 men and women who control a massive share of global assets worth $6.5 trillion. Darrell West reveals what the other 99.99998% of us need to know. With rich anecdotes and personal narratives, West goes inside the world of the ultra wealthy. Meet U.S. billionaires such as Sheldon Adelson, Michael Bloomberg, David and Charles Koch, George Soros, Tom Steyer, and Donald Trumpas well as international billionaires from around the globe. The growing political engagement of this small supra-wealthy group raises important questions about influence, transparency, and government performance, and West lays bare the wealthification of politics, including: How billionaires can block appointments and legislation they don't like Why the supra-wealthy moved into policy advocacy and referenda at the state level Why billionaires run for office in more than a dozen countries around the world 2014 IndieFab Book of the Year Award Winner Silver, Political Science F. Scott Fitzgerald taught us that the very rich are different from the rest of us. Now Darrell West has taken us on a thoughtful romp through the world of our new billionaire class. He couples a moral concern for the cost of rising inequality with a scholar’s commitment to telling the story straight. This is both an important book and a good read. E.J. Dionne, Georgetown University Are the super-wealthy different from you and me?” asks Darrell West. Different or not, they are shaping our world, sometimes for the better (when they invent new things), but often for the worse, when they undermine democracy, use government to enrich themselves, and create a culture of social separatism and uber-success. Unless you are indifferent to this new world, you should read West’s book. Branko Milanovic, author of The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality As a free-market conservative who hopes to see more money invested in politics, not less, I disagree with many of Darrell West’s attitudes and arguments. Billionaires , is nonetheless a fresh, thought-provoking, clear-eyed view of a bitterly controversial subject, demonstrating that the prominent participation of plutocrats in politics is a worldwide, and not just American, phenomenon. Even those who reject West’s conclusions will enjoy the crisp, readable, and passionately personal style he deploys to make his points. Michael Medved, nationally syndicated talk radio host The saddest sight in American politics is a U.S. Senator begging a billionaire for his crumbs. Chris Matthews, MSNBC’s Hardball With a riveting mix of facts and stories, Darrell West tells us who these new plutocrats are, what they think about politics, and how they maneuver to get what they want. . . . Billionaires is a must-read for all who care about the future of democracy. Theda Skocpol, Harvard University Darrell M. West is the vice president of Governance Studies and the director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. He is the author of 19 books on American politics and the recipient of several book awards. Billionaires Reflections on the Upper Crust By Darrell M. West Brookings Institution Press Copyright © 2014 The Brookings Institution All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8157-2596-1 Contents 1 The Controversy over Billionaires, 1, Part I Billionaire Activism, 2 Can Rich Dudes Buy an Election?, 33, 3 Referendum Campaigns and Policy Advocacy, 55, 4 New Models of Philanthropy, 73, 5 Elections Abroad, 92, Part II It Takes a Village to Make a Fortune, 6 The Global 1,645, 113, 7 Innovative Ideas, 129, 8 Not a One-Person Act, 145, Part III What Can Be Done?, 9 Better Transparency, Governance, and Opportunity, 167, 10 Hope for the Future, 194, Acknowledgments, 213, Appendix, 215, Notes, 219, Index, 247, CHAPTER 1 The Controversy over Billionaires AT THE TIME of his reelection campaign, several conservative billionaires were unhappy with the job performance of President Barack Obama. The economy was not doing well. There was uncertainty in foreign policy. Many of them believed that Obama was a poor leader. Irate about how things were going, they decided to devote several hundred million dollars to defeating the president. Individuals such as Sheldon Adelson, David and Charles Koch, and the late Harold Simmons and a group of wealthy donors assembled by Republican strategist Karl Rove felt that they needed to speak out to ensure that the country had stronger leadership and moved in what they considered a better direction. But they were not the only super-wealthy people who were politically active. In recent elections, there has been an explosion of activism by the rich. Billionaires such as Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and Tom Steyer have poured extensive resources into supporting their favored candidates and causes. In addition, wealthy individuals have bankrolled advocacy campaigns at the state lev