Burned by Billionaires

An exposé of the hidden impact of America's überwealthy on the country's economy, environmental health, housing market, and political system

Even if you don't begrudge the ultrarich their multiple vacation homes, yachts, and private jets, Burned by Billionaires chronicles how the actions of the top .01% have severe consequences for the rest of us. In chapters including "Road Map to Richistan" and "Extractavism," upper-class traitor Chuck Collins takes down the "myth of meritocracy," showing how the rich rig the game in their favor, resulting in an increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny (but growing) class of billionaires.

In a wholly original argument, Collins shows the impact the ultrawealthy have on the rest of us: increasing the tax burden on ordinary working people; reducing public funding for schools, roads, and other essential infrastructure; shrinking the pool of affordable housing; and accelerating climate change with outsize emissions from superpollutant yachts and private jets. Perhaps worst of all, the concentration of wealth and power is leading to political capture, undermining the democratic principle that our votes matter equally.

Lively chapters feature charts, graphs, political cartoons, and more. A final chapter on "Reining in the Billionaires" offers concrete prescriptions for taking power back from the billionaire class.