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How rich people use nature to enhance their status, find rural salvation, and resolve the complex predicaments in their livesBillionaire Wilderness takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today's richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States, and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, oil magnates, and other prominent figures in business and politics. He also talked with the rural poor who live among the ultra-wealthy and often work for them. The result is a penetrating account of the far-reaching consequences of the massive accrual of wealth, and an eye-opening and sometimes troubling portrait of a changing American West where romanticizing rural poverty and conserving nature can be lucrative -- socially as well as economically.Weaving unforgettable storytelling with thought-provoking analysis, Billionaire Wilderness reveals how the ultra-wealthy are buying up the land and leveraging one of the most pristine ecosystems in the world to climb even higher on the socioeconomic ladder. The affluent of Teton County are people burdened by stigmas, guilt, and status anxiety -- and they appropriate nature and rural people to create more virtuous and deserving versions of themselves. This incisive and compelling book reveals the hidden connections between wealth concentration and the environment, two of the most pressing and contentious issues of our time.
About the Author
Justin Farrell is a professor and author at Yale University. His books and articles have won national awards and used on the floor of the U.S. Senate.Born in Wyoming, he lives in Denver and New Haven. http://JustinFarrell.org Twitter @J_Farrell
