A comprehensive study of Britain's 250 richest people in history, from the time of William the Conqueror to the present. In this book, Philip Beresford, the author of The Sunday Times annual 'Rich List' and history expert William D. Rubinstein, have turned their attention to the wealthiest individuals in British history, revealing how they made their fortunes, the role played by luck, contacts and violence, and how successful they were in hanging on to their gains. People like: - William of Warenne, the Earl of Surrey in the 1050s, who if he were alive today would be worth nearly £74bn - over three times richer than Britain's current richest man (steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal). - Archbishop Thomas Beckett, who took 250 servants with him on a visit to Paris in 1158, and was worth over £24bn. Not that his fortune was much use when he was murdered in his own cathedral on the orders of Henry II. - Robert Spencer, forebear of Princess Diana, who made a fortune in the wool trade, owned vast tracts of land in the colony of Virginia. and accumulated a fortune equivalent to £19bn in today's money. - John Scott, a celebrated gambler whose skills and luck helped him to a £500,000 (£3.1bn) fortune. "As rich as Scott" was a popular saying of eighteenth century society. The authors provide a fascinating account of personal wealth and influence, noting how, throughout history, the opportunities for aggrandising wealth have been changed by technology, demographics, taxation, politics and war. If you are interested in business, society and the shifting patterns of advantage then you will find this book absorbing, intriguing and insightful.

Analyzes the growing divide between the incomes of the wealthy class and those of middle-income Americans, exonerating popular suspects to argue that the nation's political system promotes greed and under-representation.

Learn J. Paul Getty’s secrets on making money and getting rich in this “excellent How To book from a $$$ and sense man” (Kirkus Reviews). There are plenty of books on making money by men who haven't made much. But if J. Paul Getty, who Fortune magazine called “the richest man in the world,” doesn't know how, who does? Here the billionaire businessman discloses the secrets of his success—and provides a blueprint for those who want to follow in his footsteps. And he goes beyond the matter of making money to the question of what to do with it. “Getty says it: ‘You can be rich.’”—New York Herald Tribune “Aimed at the rising young business executive.”—Albany Times-Union

Counsels everyday investors on how to acquire wealth that can be sustained throughout subsequent generations, in a guide based on research into America's millionaire families that reveals how they invest, where they work, and how they plan their estates. 30,000 first printing.

For decades, a secret army of tax attorneys, accountants and wealth managers has been developing into the shadowy Wealth Defence Industry. These ‘agents of inequality’ are paid millions to hide trillions for the richest 0.01%. In this book, inequality expert Chuck Collins, who himself inherited a fortune, interviews the leading players and gives a unique insider account of how this industry is doing everything it can to create and entrench hereditary dynasties of wealth and power. He exposes the inner workings of these “agents of inequality”, showing how they deploy anonymous shell companies, family offices, offshore accounts, opaque trusts, and sham transactions to ensure the world’s richest pay next to no tax. He ends by outlining a robust set of policies that democratic nations can implement to shut down the Wealth Defence Industry for good. This shocking exposé of the insidious machinery of inequality is essential reading for anyone wanting the inside story of our age of plutocratic plunder and stashed cash.

Recounts how Texas oil transformed wealth and power in America through the stories of the state's four most influential oil families, tracing how they rose from modest backgrounds, shaped the government, and bankrolled the rise of modern conservatism.