Richistan

What is wealth? Not from a Hip Hop standpoint, but from the vantage point of actual wealth. Is it about philanthropy, touring the world, staying in six star hotels, having $20K mortages, what? Being a new author has pushed me into reading a variety of books running the gamut, however, I am currently was caught up in a new book concerning the wealthy versus the affluent. The book, Richistan, is crack addictive! Fortunately, I am unable to put it down and suggest you read it if you are remotely interested in how the other side lives.

ABOUT THIS BOOK
The 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.” They’re 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 century’s 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, there’s been a boom in the number of newly trained butlers—“household managers”—who will serve just the right cabernet when a Richistani’s 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 you’re helping the needy!” Richistanis are not only consuming like crazy, they’re also shaking up the establishment’s 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 I’m 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.

In short, what are the top three things you'll do upon earning your first 10 million? 1) I'd open a private school of etiquette in the middle of the hood for academically excelling students charged with transforming the poverty mentality of the inner city to one of cultural value 2) I'd purchase hundreds of homes in the hood, tear them down, build new one and offer the residents an opportunity to buy them for a cheap price upon completion of a credit repair course designed to teach people how to build wealth 3) I'd subscribe to a lifetime of kicking it!!!