Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More

LIVELY, ACCESSIBLE WRITING: Rob Larson's day job as a professor of economics might conjure images of stuffy academics, but his ironic sensibility and razor sharp wit set him apart. Larson's distinctive style--honed during his time as a scriptwriter--combines this sense of humor with an ability to synthesize a tremendous amount of financial data to produce some of the most accessible and engaging economic writing out there. Think Paul Krugman if he were a socialist (and actually funny).

ROBUST MARKET FOR POPULAR LEFT ECONOMICS: YouTube shows such as Economic Update with Richard Wolff (a weekly show averaging tens of thousands of views), the massive size of Adam Tooze's substack subscriber base, as well as the robust sales of our own People's Guide to Capitalism all demonstrate the growing interest in rigorous but accessible analysis of economic developments.

PERFECTLY TIMED TO CAPITALIZE ON SKEPTICISM OF RULING CLASS: As wealth inequality continues to spiral out of control, there has emerged a growing sense that the world's billionaires might not deserve the relentless veneration heaped on them. From Bernie Sanders' recent viral confrontation with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, to the growing strike wave gripping the country, evidence abounds that a healthy skepticism about the inequities of our economic system and its beneficiaries is becoming the rule. Mastering the Universe will connect with these sentiments and offer a peek behind the curtain of the wealthy.
Economist Rob Larson combines wit, righteous anger, and clear-eyed analysis as he dissects the lifestyle, moral bankruptcy, and stupidly large sums of money hoarded by the disgustingly wealthy.

The fact that we live in one of the most unequal societies in the history of the world is becoming common knowledge. And while lists of "richest people in x country" may be easy to come by, how much do we really know about the billionaires who sit atop our global economic system? Who are they, really? How did they accumulate their ill-gotten gains? And what kind of depravities do they use to maintain their positions?

Turning their own weapons of class-war against them-from the fawning profiles found in the Mansion section of the Wall Street Journal to the national income data buried in white papers meant solely for investors and technocrats-Larson crunches the numbers so you don't have to. But he doesn't stop there, because appreciating the sheer scale of the global wealth