Thinking Allowed Wealth
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Feb 11, 2025 Brooke Harrington, a Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth, dives into the murky waters of offshore finance, revealing its global repercussions and moral dilemmas. She shares her firsthand research experiences in tax havens, questioning the cost of secrecy in an unequal world. Joining her is Guido Alfani, an Economic History Professor at Bocconi University, who unravels the precarious history of the super-rich over a millennium. Together, they ponder how societal views of wealth have evolved and what that means for accountability today.
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Accessibility of Research Subjects
- The less fortunate are heavily surveilled, providing ample data for social scientists.
- The wealthy, however, use their resources to shield themselves from scrutiny, making research difficult.
Becoming a Wealth Manager
- Brooke Harrington, inspired by "Upstairs, Downstairs," decided to study the wealthy by becoming a wealth manager.
- This approach allowed her to observe the wealthy indirectly, like a "high-end valet."
Offshore Finance and Secrecy
- Offshore finance is a global network offering secrecy to the rich, not just tax evasion.
- It's used to circumvent various laws and protect assets, primarily by those with substantial wealth (over £5 million).
