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Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World Kindle Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars 485

San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller  • An NPR Best Book of the Year

The New York Times’s Global Economics Correspondent masterfully reveals how billionaires’ systematic plunder of the world—brazenly accelerated during the pandemic—has transformed 21st-century life and dangerously destabilized democracy.

Davos Man will be read a hundred years from now as a warning.” —Evan Osnos

“Excellent. A powerful, fiery book, and it could well be an essential one.”  —NPR.org

The history of the last half century in America, Europe, and other major economies is in large part the story of wealth flowing upward. The most affluent people emerged from capitalism’s triumph in the Cold War to loot the peace, depriving governments of the resources needed to serve their people, and leaving them tragically unprepared for the worst pandemic in a century.

Drawing on decades of experience covering the global economy, award-winning journalist Peter S. Goodman profiles five representative “Davos Men”—members of the billionaire class—chronicling how their shocking exploitation of the global pandemic has hastened a fifty-year trend of wealth centralization. Alongside this reporting, Goodman delivers textured portraits of those caught in Davos Man’s wake, including a former steelworker in the American Midwest, a Bangladeshi migrant in Qatar, a Seattle doctor on the front lines of the fight against COVID, blue-collar workers in the tenements of Buenos Aires, an African immigrant in Sweden, a textile manufacturer in Italy, an Amazon warehouse employee in New York City, and more.

Goodman’s revelatory exposé of the global billionaire class reveals their hidden impact on nearly every aspect of modern society: widening wealth inequality, the rise of anti-democratic nationalism, the shrinking opportunity to earn a livable wage, the vulnerabilities of our health-care systems, access to affordable housing, unequal taxation, and even the quality of the shirt on your back. Meticulously reported yet compulsively readable, Davos Man is an essential read for anyone concerned about economic justice, the capacity of societies to grapple with their greatest challenges, and the sanctity of representative government.


From the Publisher

Davos Man
Davos Man
Davos Man

Editorial Reviews

Review

A biting, uproarious yet vital and deadly serious account of the profound damage the billionaire class is inflicting on the world. Peter S. Goodman guides the reader through the hidden stories and twisted beliefs of some of the titans of finance and industry, who continually rationalize their bad behavior to themselves.

-- "Joseph E. Stiglitz, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Review

“A meticulously researched, clearly reported and truly infuriating history of the way the top 1% of the world has systematically arranged the way societies operate in order to become even richer, all to the detriment of the rest of us. … The book serves as a call to arms and an invitation to fight back against the continued unabashed pillaging of all economies by those who least need it.”  — San Francisco Chronicle

“Powerful. … Goodman’s reporting is biting and bitterly funny. … Davos Man shows us that today’s extreme wealth is inextricably linked to a great crime, perhaps the greatest one of this century: the hijacking of our democracy.” — Washington Post

“Excellent. ... An angry, powerful look at the economic inequality that's been brought into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic. … A powerful, fiery book, and it could well be an essential one.” — NPR.org

"The Times’s global economics correspondent profiles five billionaires (along with workers and migrants across the world) to show how their exploitation of the pandemic has exacerbated inequality across the globe." — New York Times Book Review

Well-written and well-reported. … A passionate denunciation of the mega-rich.” — The Economist

"A biting, uproarious yet vital and deadly serious account of the profound damage the billionaire class is inflicting on the world. Peter S. Goodman guides the reader through the hidden stories and twisted beliefs of some of the titans of finance and industry, who continually rationalize their bad behavior to themselves." — JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics

"Unflinching and authoritative, Peter Goodman’s Davos Man will be read a hundred years from now as a warning, bellowed from the blessed side of the velvet rope, about a slow-motion scandal that spans the globe. Deliciously rich with searing detail, the clarity is reminiscent of Tom Wolfe, let loose in the Alps, in search of hypocrisies and vanities." — EVAN OSNOS, National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition and Wildland

“One of the great financial investigative journalists, Peter S. Goodman delivers a meticulously detailed account of how the billionaire class has hijacked the world’s economy, feasting on calamity, shirking taxes, all the while spouting bromides about compassionate capitalism. I so wish this tale of limitless greed and hypocrisy was a novel or a mini-series and not the truth about the world in which we live. Reader, prepare to be enraged.” — BARBARA DEMICK, author of Nothing to Envy and Eat the Buddha

New York Times global economics correspondent Goodman mounts a scathing critique of the greed, narcissism, and hypocrisy that characterize those in ‘the stratosphere of the globe-trotting class’… An urgent, timely, and compelling message with nearly limitless implications.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Impressively detailed. … Very readable, extensively reported. … A well-researched and lively explanation of how the global economy works, and the turning points that have enabled profiteering by the ultra-rich while undermining societal and democratic institutions.” — Charter

“Goodman is a skilled reporter whose stories of private affluence and public squalor are filled with detail and human interest.” — Wall Street Journal

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B092VYTQJQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Custom House (January 18, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 18, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2063 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 472 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0063078317
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 485

About the author

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Peter S. Goodman
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Peter S. Goodman is the global economic correspondent for The New York Times, based in New York.

Over the course of three decades in journalism, Goodman has covered some of the most momentous economic transformations and upheavals – the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession, as the Times' national economic correspondent; the emergence of China into a global superpower as the Shanghai bureau chief for The Washington Post; the advent of the Web followed by the dot-com crash as a technology reporter for the Post, based in Washington. During a five year stint in London for the Times, he wrote about Brexit, the rise of right-wing populism in Europe, the crises in Turkey in Argentina, the endurance of economic apartheid in South Africa, the struggles of migrant workers in the Persian Gulf, the tragic failure of land reform in the Philippines, and the catastrophe of the coronavirus pandemic.

Goodman has reported from more than 40 countries, including stints in conflict zones such as Iraq, Cambodia, Sudan and East Timor.

He has been recognized with some of journalism’s top honors, including two Gerald Loeb awards, and seven prizes from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. His work as part of the Times’ series on the roots of the 2008 financial crisis was a finalist for the Pulitzer.

His new book, DAVOS MAN: How the Billionaires Devoured the World, is forthcoming in January, 2022. His critically acclaimed first book, PAST DUE: The End of Easy Money and the Renewal of the American Economy (Times Books, 2009), was named one of Bloomberg’s top 50 business titles.

Goodman lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, the novelist Deanna Fei, and their three children.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
485 global ratings
So good.. so far
3 Stars
So good.. so far
Only a quarter of the way through the book but it's great so far. I'll update once I finish.Wish I would have bought the book from a store though! There are pages not cut properly in my copy :(
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2022
If, like America's Founders, you love local businesses, mom & pop entrepreneurs, good paying jobs, and vibrant local villages abuzz with economic vitality, you’ll love this book. It reinvigorates your Spirit of America, i.e., free Markets v. Kingdoms (capital hoarders). It reminds us of the Lexington Minute Men/Boston Tea Party folks v. the English King & his Aristocracy who owned the capital. You'll learn why capitalism is not the enemy of free markets. Indeed, like kingdoms that rule oppressively and die from revolts, capitalism will die unless it yields to our Founders’ free market system. Today’s wealthy have usurped capitalism. They hoard capital to buy media, politicians, professors, judges, and to subjucate people; it worked, for them. But, it manifested in capitalism presenting as a clear and present danger to free markets. Ex. A (and all other exhibits) are in this book. It unveils, among other good stuff, that the current kings’ perpetuate a “big lie”: America should remain the land of trickle down monopolies with depressed wages, poor struggling local mom & pop entrepreneurs, indebted students, and depleted state & local tax revenues that result in poor infrastructure, bad air quality, poor schools, and little to no health care. Push back!, writes the author. He articulates a 'back to the future', back to democracy, remedy written in his final 4 chapters. He tells of a Davos speaker who told the rich how they stole the world's capital $$, but how we all can take it back. "This is not rocket science," he said. He’s right; this stuff, people v. wealth-class, sells itself. If you’re not rich, it’s a fun, invigorating read. If you're rich ($50 M+), read it & weep.
23 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023
This is an incredible examination of our economic history and fact filled analysis of what is happening in the world. Great reading!
Charlie Martin
6 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2022
This book is a rude awakening for those who never think about this sort of thing, and a rude reminder for those of us who do. The billionaires who run the world (don't kid yourself) neither know nor care what we punters do all day, nor with what we might be struggling. And, as far as I can tell, vice versa. I had to take away one star just because it's a shameless polemic, but then how could it not be? Read it and weep or maybe make a sign and go march somewhere.
13 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2022
Clearly explains why society is in the mess it's in today. It appears we've lost our unity of purpose & interest in the common good. This book explains how these divisions were fostered and how it's in the best interests of the ultra rich to keep it that way. Having a conscious or caring about our fellow countrymen who are down on their luck? Apparently, the striving for personal wealth & power supersedes all patriotic duty. How much better could all our lives be if everyone paid their fair share in taxes, if we invested in training or care for the indigent, if we gave jobs to those looking for work - even if it was civic employment. Makes you think..... and hopefully take action to right these wrongs.
17 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2024
I got this as part of a book club that discusses political trends.

I had thought the focus was going to be more on the event and organization of the World Economic Forum. In fact, it is primarily about the *type* of person who would participate and what that person (ie the Davos Man) did to become a voice at the table, so to speak.

The conclusion I come to is that Goodman sees the evil in the world, the lack of equity in resources and opportunties all occur because the Davos Man (the billionaires of the world) do not pay enough taxes so that governments can run the appropriate social programs that would distribute the successes of those business leaders to the rest of society. His vitriol is evident throughout the book and his anger toward the Davos Man is a core thread of his discourse.

By the way, if you buy the book here from Amazon, you are part of the problem because you are making Davos Man Jeff Bezos even richer for which you bear culpability for the evil that has run rampant in the world. (not really.... but I sense Goodman may think this to be so).
5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2023
Great breakdown of the problems associated with modern capitalism. Would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a way forward.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2022
The discrepancy between the selfless, responsible, and socially-concerned titles of Davos presentations (about climate warming, inequality, concerns about healthcare) and the actual behind-the-scenes plans of the billionaire participants in the Davos Forum is striking. The discussion about how billionaires have transformed hospital care in the U.S. into a means of milking doctors, nurses, and, above all, patients, is disconcerting. Wonderful, superb book. Eye-opening! Highly recommended!
The first two parts of the book, while brilliantly written, may leave one with the feeling that there is no alternative to "Davos man's" exploitation of the citizenry throughout the globe. Yet, part 3 casts some rays of hope on the path ahead.
66 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2022
This is an excellent analysis on the competition between monopoly capital/rent-seeking industries and investments in public goods like public health, education, and livable communities. We will not be able to solve for our grand challenges related to climate change, equity, energy, environment without understanding where capital works and does not work. This highly readable book brilliantly dismantles the myths of trickle down economics and "stakeholder capitalism" invented by the superclass for public consumption.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Garry Rodgers
5.0 out of 5 stars A Wakeup About Woke!
Reviewed in Canada on March 13, 2022
I've been researching the World Economic Forum for a documentary series and am really getting a wakeup about the Woke movement. Every citizen of the world should be aware of what's going on with Klaus Schwab's vision of "The New World Order" and how a select group of his elite are quickly shaping tomorrow. It's all about redistribution of wealth - more for them (the rich) and less for us. Author Peter S. Goodman does an outstanding exposure job in Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World.
2 people found this helpful
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Daniel Kuster
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book
Reviewed in Australia on March 7, 2023
Important book that I would recommend to everyone. Well written to boot. Very informative and a real page turner
Arlo
5.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile read - An important book.
Reviewed in Canada on May 27, 2023
Helps to make sense of some of the madness we're seeing in the world today. Old lessons re-learned. Greed is definitely not good, and absolute power certainly corrupts absolutely.
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book
Reviewed in India on December 11, 2022
This book exposes the reality of how billionaires not only exploit the world but also claim to be the saviours. It stars with COVID 19 and then exposes many billionaires of what they did during and after the COVID crisis. Must read if you want to expand your horizons and improve your perspectives.
2 people found this helpful
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phil s
1.0 out of 5 stars Leftist rant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2022
Some facts, mostly opinion. Not what was expected at all.waste of time and my money. Phil s
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