The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age

ISBN: 1524760072

Author: Crabtree, James

Condition: Used

A colorful and revealing portrait of the rise of Indias new billionaire class in a radically unequal societyIndia is the worlds largest democracy, with more than one billion people and an economy expanding faster than Chinas. But the rewards of this growth have been far from evenly shared, and the countrys top 1% now own nearly 60% of its wealth. In megacities like Mumbai, where half the population live in slums, the extraordinary riches of Indias new dynasties echo the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers of America's Gilded Age, funneling profits from huge conglomerates into lifestyles of conspicuous consumption.James Crabtrees The Billionaire Raj takes readers on a personal journey to meet these reclusive billionaires, fugitive tycoons, and shadowy political power brokers. From the sky terrace of the worlds most expensive home to impoverished villages and mass political rallies, Crabtree dramatizes the battle between crony capitalists and economic reformers, revealing a tense struggle between equality and privilege playing out against a combustible backdrop of aspiration, class, and caste.The Billionaire Raj is a vivid account of a divided society on the cusp of transformation-and a struggle that will shape not just Indias future, but the worlds.