Synopses & Reviews
Review
” This book, written by Jim Taylor, Doug Harrison (marketing researchers) and Stephen Kraus (social psychologist) promises to ‘present the many different faces of the American rich.’ Love them or hate them, we certainly notice the rich (and often court them). Try as we might, we can’t ignore them. Nor should we.”
Wall Street Journal Wealth Report Blog
Review
“If you are interested to marketing to the super-wealthy…try this fascinating book to tell you who they are, where they are, and what they do.”
Life Insurance Selling
Review
“Want to get inside the minds of the truly wealthy? The New Elite offers exclusive access to the ‘new financial elite’ and some surprising answers as to how they achieved their economic status.” -- QRCA Reviews
Review
"Charts and graphs throughout distill key data into easy-to-grasp nuggets, lending clarity to this book whose fresh take on the habits of the American economic elite will be indispensable to marketers." -- Publishers Weekly
Review
"Charts and graphs throughout distill key data into easy-to-grasp nuggets, lending clarity to this book whose fresh take on the habits of the American economic elite will be indispensable to marketers." -- Publishers Weekly
“Great reading, even better inspiration for millionaires-to-be.”
ALA Booklist (Starred Review)
“…take heed, luxury providers: if you pay more attention to the elite customer’s history and disposition, you are more likely to stike gold.”
Time magazine
“If you are interested to marketing to the super-wealthy…try this fascinating book to tell you who they are, where they are, and what they do.”
Life Insurance Selling
“…a must-read for consumer marketers and interesting reading for the rest of us.”
Graziadio Business Report
” This book, written by Jim Taylor, Doug Harrison (marketing researchers) and Stephen Kraus (social psychologist) promises to ‘present the many different faces of the American rich.’ Love them or hate them, we certainly notice the rich (and often court them). Try as we might, we can’t ignore them. Nor should we.”
Wall Street Journal Wealth Report Blog
“Want to get inside the minds of the truly wealthy? The New Elite offers exclusive access to the ‘new financial elite’ and some surprising answers as to how they achieved their economic status.” -- QRCA Reviews
Review
“Great reading, even better inspiration for millionaires-to-be.”
ALA Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
“…take heed, luxury providers: if you pay more attention to the elite customer’s history and disposition, you are more likely to stike gold.”
Time magazine
Review
“…a must-read for consumer marketers and interesting reading for the rest of us.”
Graziadio Business Report
Synopsis
We are all fascinated by them—that enigmatic class of people often referred to as the rich. With all the emphasis on the rich and famous in America, we would think we know everything about them. In reality, very few of us truly understand those who make up the very wealthiest Americans—those with liquid assets of $5 million or more. What is this new class of people and how did they get that way?
In The New Elite, the authors reveal what motivates our country’s most powerful and influential class, what they want, where they shop, and how they really spend their money. With candor and unique insight, they reveal that the people who drive our economy are not Ivy league-educated, luxury-seeking socialites. While they include luminaries like Bill Gates, David Geffen, Ralph Lauren, and Donald Trump, they also include the small business owner next door. Based on unprecedented research with hundreds of interviews with members of this unique group,The New Elite uncovers the five classes of America’s newly wealthy—including those who struggle with its implications, those who refuse to let it change them, and those who give it away, and how each of them is changing our culture and economy. This is an entertaining and enlightening look at America’s ruling class, the profound ways they have redefined what it means to be rich, and how we court them.
About the Author
Doug Harrison (Waterbury, CT) founded Harrison Group Inc. in 1996 and has developed branding strategies for Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Bank of America.
Jim Taylor (Waterbury, CT) is Vice President of the Harrison Group and one of the country’s most respected marketing consultants.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
1. Today’s Wealth Explosion 1
The Supernova and the Gravitational Pull of Money
2. Debunking Paris Hilton 13
Why the Wealthy Told Us Their Stories
3. The Wealth of the Nation 21
Four Waves of American Wealth
4. There’s a New Sheriff in Town 41
The Triumph of the Middle Class
5. Money Matters 73
The Myths and Realities of the Wealthy and Their Money
6. The New Luxury 93
The Search for Sublime Value
7. The Journey of Wealth 113
The Arc of Maturation
8. Flavors of Wealth 127
The Five Lifestyle Choices
9. Globizens 155
Global Citizens and the Waning of Nationalism
10. Wealtherkind 169
The Children of Entrepreneurial Wealth
11. The Third Age 185
Reinventment and Philanthrobusiness
12. The Plutonomy 199
When 5 Percent of the Haves Own More Than the Other 95 Percent Combined
A Final Word 223
Appendix 225
Our Methodologies for Studying the Wealthy
Index 233
About the Authors 243