Today, Explained The billionaire backlash
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Nov 14, 2025 
Evan Osnos, a Staff writer at The New Yorker and author of 'The Haves and Have Yachts,' explores the soaring number of billionaires and the growing backlash against them. He unpacks how tax rules have favored wealth accumulation and examines the cultural display of lavish luxuries. With shifting public sentiment and rising resentment over inequality, Evan discusses the implications of billionaires in politics and society. He connects social media visibility with increasing discontent, explaining why anti-billionaire sentiment is peaking.
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Explosive Growth Of Billionaire Wealth
- The billionaire population and their share of wealth have soared in recent decades, concentrating economic power.
- Changes in tax rules and lower rates for the wealthy enabled fortunes to grow and persist over time.
Wealth Buys Rules That Favor Wealth
- Wealth buys political access that shapes laws and preserves fortunes through loopholes and advice.
- The estate tax has been pared back, letting wealthy families avoid wealth transfer taxes more easily.
Outrageous Ways Billionaires Spend
- Evan Osnos describes visible billionaire spending like lavish weddings and half‑billion‑dollar superyachts.
- He shares a consultant's story of 'bored billionaires' commissioning ephemeral, 3D‑printed restaurants on sandbars.
