{"product_id":"9780807003435","title":"Billionaires' Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality","description":"\u003cp\u003eA society top-heavy with billionaires may seem like a paradise of upward mobility, but it actually more closely resembles a boneyard of broken dreams for all but a lucky few. Between 1980 and 2008, the incomes of the bottom 90 percent of Americans grew by a meager 1 percent compared to a whopping 403 percent for the top .01 percent. We tend to regard these large fortunes as proof of a meritocracy, yet there is no evidence that members of today’s super-rich are any more talented or hardworking than were the elite of a generation ago. Via vivid profiles of billionaires—ranging from philanthropic capitalist Bill Gates and the infamous Koch brothers to brazen private equity baron Stephen Schwarzman—\u003ci\u003eBillionaires’ Ball\u003c\/i\u003e debunks the notion that they “deserve” their grand fortunes, when such wealth is really a by-product of a legal and economic system that’s become deeply flawed and is now threatening the quality of life and very functioning of our democracy. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Beacon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47026328043760,"sku":"9780807003435","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780807003435_p0.jpg?v=1763742535","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780807003435","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}