An estimated 40 percent of global assets are controlled by 1,645 men and women - the billionaires. This book reveals what the other 99.9998 per cent of us need to know. With rich anecdotes and personal narratives, it goes inside the world of the ultra wealthy.

The top one percent own about one-third of the assets in America and 40 percent of assets around the world. This concentration of financial resources in many countries gives the ultra-rich extraordinary influence over elections, public policy, and governance. Darrell West's Billionaires analyses the growing political activism of the ultra-rich and the manner in which they have pioneered more activist forms of politics and philanthropy.