The Billionaire Raj
A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age
About the book
Financial Times journalist James Crabtree examines wealth inequality in India through its new billionaire class. The economy has grown faster than China's, but the top 1% now hold nearly 60% of the country's wealth, and in Mumbai half the population lives in slums while new dynasties spend on a scale that recalls the Gilded Age of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts in America. Crabtree sets out to meet reclusive billionaires, fugitive tycoons and political power brokers, from a sky terrace atop the most expensive home in the world to poor villages and mass rallies. He frames the story as a struggle between crony capitalists and economic reformers, played out against class and caste. It was published in 2018.
Tyler Cowen predicted it would prove the defining work on who India's new rich are and what they want. Nicolas Colin, co-founder of The Family, noted the optimism of Crabtree's portrait of a fast-changing India.
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This book has 2 recommendations
Tyler Cowen (Author, Economics Professor, Host/Marginal Revolution blog)
Who are the Indian nouveau riche and what do they want? James Crabtree’s The Billionaire Raj will prove the defining work on these questions. It is a must-read for anyone interested in wealth, inequality, India, or the evolution of capitalism.
Nicolas Colin (Entrepreneur, Co-Founder and Director/The Family)
The Billionaire Raj is a book by Singapore-based Financial Times alumnus James Crabtree. It depicts the radical change that India is currently going through, with the rise of extreme inequalities and the capture of the political system by wealthy families. What’s striking in James’s riveting painting of modern India is the optimism with which he describes the current state of things: not necessarily the end of the story, but rather a passing phase before the Indian economy becomes more sustainable and inclusive. (Thanks John Thornhill for the introduction!)
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