A radical realignment in the nature of wealth is under way--transforming ordinary individuals into powerful stewards of their own financial futures, and all corporations into risk managers. Deep structural shifts in financial markets and in economic value are profoundly altering the nature of wealth, catapulting most workers from spectators to players in the new economy. As of mid-1998, American households controlled 59 percent of all stocks held in the nation, a figure that underscores a fundamental new truth: wealth is not just for the wealthy anymore. In business, change occurs so fast that once-internal management activities, like setting prices, are now migrating into the marketplace. The role of human resource departments will transition from managers of administrative functions to builders of human asset portfolios, as the labor market establishes a price for each employee. And strategic risk units, the complement to strategic business units, will enable companies to identify, isolate, and trade risks in financial markets. In Future Wealth--the companion volume to the authors' bestselling book Blur, and the long-awaited follow-up to Stan Davis' famous Future Perfect--Davis and Meyer offer a compelling vision of what lies ahead. It relies on three major consequences of the newly connected economy: risk as an opportunity, not a threat; the growing efficiency of financial markets for human capital; and the need for new forms of social capital. These three developments are combining in ways that will forever change how individuals, companies, and societies create, accumulate, control, and distribute wealth. According to Davis and Meyer, wealth creation in the Information Age has been more financial (bearing, trading, and managing risks) than real (producing and consuming goods); wealth accumulation is shifting from earned income (salaries) to unearned (investments); and control of wealth is shifting from institutions to individuals. Davis and Meyer describe a world in the not-so-distant future in which we will trade everything of value--including human capital, talent, and other intangibles--in efficient markets. Companies will begin to invest directly in their employees, not secondarily through training and development, and to treat business units as units of financial risk whose worth equals the quality of their intellectual capital. Individuals will think less about jobs and more about investing in their own human capital. As average citizens gain more knowledge about investments, they will begin to accept higher risk for the potential of higher rewards, turning the concept of risk from threat to opportunity. But future wealth will depend not merely on a healthy appetite for risk, but also on stronger social safety nets designed to balance new individual freedoms with commensurate order. From how we work and earn, spend and save, manage our corporations, plan our mortgages, taxes, retirement, and more--the new economy will provide opportunities for every individual to reap unprecedented rewards. Describing both the enormous possibilities and potential consequences of this exciting new world, Davis and Meyer outline the principles that will help make every person's net worth and every corporation's growth add up to a society rich in both the human, financial, and real aspects of wealth.

The American economy has been turned upside down during the past decade in one of the most tumultuous economic revolutions in world history. The result: the United States has put more distance between itself and its commercial rivals than anyone imagined possible. Annual growth in the U.S. economy matches the size of whole countries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has reached once-unthinkable heights. Three-quarters of the world's top fifty companies are now American. In FutureWealth, a superbly researched book, the authors provide a startling new way of looking at America's success. The reason for our exceptional performance is the breathtaking pace at which U.S. companies today substitute information for all other resources at their disposal. The authors explore major companies that have substituted information throughout their operations. They also show how the results have been dramatic in those companies' expanded bottom lines and rising stock valuations-- and how investors can both learn and profit from the information revolution around us. FutureWealth is a landmark book and a very timely read for investors, managers, and policy makers the world over.

The first book to reveal how the Federal Reserve holds the key to making us more economically equal, written by an author with unparalleled expertise in the real world of financial policy Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy placed much greater focus on stabilizing the market than on helping struggling Americans. As a result, the richest Americans got a lot richer while the middle class shrank and economic and wealth inequality skyrocketed. In Engine of Inequality, Karen Petrou offers pragmatic solutions for creating more inclusive monetary policy and equality-enhancing financial regulation as quickly and painlessly as possible. Karen Petrou is a leading financial-policy analyst and consultant with unrivaled knowledge of what drives the decisions of federal officials and how big banks respond to financial policy in the real world. Instead of proposing legislation that would never pass Congress, the author provides an insider's look at politically plausible, high-impact financial policy fixes that will radically shift the equality balance. Offering an innovative, powerful, and highly practical solution for immediately turning around the enormous nationwide problem of economic inequality, this groundbreaking book: Presents practical ways America can and should tackle economic inequality with fast-acting results Provides revealing examples of exactly how bad economic inequality in America has become no matter how hard we all work Demonstrates that increasing inequality is disastrous for long-term economic growth, political action, and even personal happiness Explains why your bank's interest rates are still only a fraction of what they were even though the rich are getting richer than ever, faster than ever Reveals the dangers of FinTech and BigTech companies taking over banking Shows how Facebook wants to control even the dollars in your wallet Discusses who shares the blame for our economic inequality, including the Fed, regulators, Congress, and even economists Engine of Inequality: The Fed and the Future of Wealth in America should be required reading for leaders, policymakers, regulators, media professionals, and all Americans wanting to ensure that the nation’s financial policy will be a force for promoting economic equality.

Inheritances are often regarded as a great 'evil', enabling great fortunes to be passed from one generation to another, exacerbating wealth inequality, and reducing wealth mobility. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and a simulation model over years 1989 to 2010, the author reports six major findings.

Since the mid-1960s, Alvin and Heidi Toffler have predicted the far-reaching impact of emerging technological, economic, and social developments on our businesses, governments, families, and daily lives. In REVOLUTIONARY WEALTH, they once again demonstrate their unparalleled ability to illuminate current trends and anticipate what they mean for the future. REVOLUTIONARY WEALTH focuses on how wealth will be created—and who will get it—in the twenty-first century. As the knowledge-based economy (a reality the Tofflers predicted forty years ago) continues to replace the industrial-based economy, they argue, money is no longer the sole determinate of wealth. The Tofflers explain that we are becoming a nation of “prosumers,” consuming what we ourselves produce, and argue that we have all taken on “third jobs”—work we unwittingly do without pay for some of the biggest corporations in the country. Using fascinating examples from our daily lives, they illustrate how our everyday activities—from parenting and volunteering to blogging, painting our houses, and improving our diets—contribute to a non-monetary economy that is largely hidden from economists. Writing with the same insight and clarity that made their earlier books bestsellers, the Tofflers present fresh, groundbreaking new ways of thinking about wealth.

Countries regularly track gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of their economic progress, but not wealth—the assets such as infrastructure, forests, minerals, and human capital that produce GDP. In contrast, corporations routinely report on both their income and assets to assess their economic health and prospects for the future. Wealth accounts allow countries to take stock of their assets to monitor the sustainability of development, an urgent concern today for all countries. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future covers national wealth for 141 countries over 20 years (1995†“2014) as the sum of produced capital, 19 types of natural capital, net foreign assets, and human capital overall as well as by gender and type of employment. Great progress has been made in estimating wealth since the fi rst volume, Where Is the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the 21st Century, was published in 2006. New data substantially improve estimates of natural capital, and, for the fi rst time, human capital is measured by using household surveys to estimate lifetime earnings. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018 begins with a review of global and regional trends in wealth over the past two decades and provides examples of how wealth accounts can be used for the analysis of development patterns. Several chapters discuss the new work on human capital and its application in development policy. The book then tackles elements of natural capital that are not yet fully incorporated in the wealth accounts: air pollution, marine fi sheries, and ecosystems. This book targets policy makers but will engage anyone committed to building a sustainable future for the planet.