Never mind the 1 percent: Let's talk about the 0.01 percent (2017)
I read The Economist which every year publishes their list of notable books. That is how I found Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World by Tom Burgis of The Financial Times. That book describes how the richest people get there (mostly through ill gotten means) and what they do to hide money (lots and lots of real estate)<p>WaPo review <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&#x2F;outlook&#x2F;trump-among-the-kleptocrats&#x2F;2020&#x2F;09&#x2F;03&#x2F;db0fef02-ed5d-11ea-ab4e-581edb849379_story.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&#x2F;outlook&#x2F;trump-among-the-klept...</a>
The Economist review <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.economist.com&#x2F;books-and-arts&#x2F;2020&#x2F;10&#x2F;08&#x2F;two-books-examine-the-global-role-of-corruption" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.economist.com&#x2F;books-and-arts&#x2F;2020&#x2F;10&#x2F;08&#x2F;two-book...</a> (might require login)<p>Small quote from The Economist that does a wonderful job summarizing why this book is very good:<p><i>“Kleptopia” is wonderfully if grimly entertaining, replete with tales of Zimbabwean thugs, late Soviet gangsters and kgb officers-turned-entrepreneurs, as well as a Romeo-and-Juliet romance between the children of rival oligarchs. Mr Burgis’s depiction of the interlocking worlds of post-Soviet business and politics captures the way corruption binds together economic and political power. He meticulously demonstrates how, once overseas money enters Britain (attracted by the protections of its legal system), the associated power struggles and skulduggery follow.</i><p>Except it is not just Britain, but also us here in USA - countries that he touches include USA, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Colombia, Congo, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, China and both Koreas.<p>It was a fast and furious read that made me REALLY angry at times. It does not have a happy ending:<p><i>America and Britain, he thinks, are ever-more like Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan: “Like a parasite altering a cell it invades, so kleptocratic power transforms its host.”</i><p>Highly recommend as a serious, if depressing read.