Billionaire Raj: SHORTLISTED for the FT and MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK of the YEAR AWARD 2018

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FT & MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018 A Financial Times Book of the Year and an Amazon Top 100 Book of the Year India's explosive rise has driven inequality to new extremes, with millions trapped in slums as billionaires spend lavishly and dodge taxes. Controversial prime minister Narendra Modi promised 'to break the grip' of the Bollygarchs, but many tycoons continue to thrive amidst the scandals, exerting huge influence over business and politics. But who are these titans of politics and industry shaping India through this period of breakneck change? And what kind of superpower are they creating? A vivid portrait of a deeply divided nation, The Billionaire Raj makes clear that India's destiny – prosperous democratic giant or corrupt authoritarian regime – is something that should concern us all. "A colorful and revealing portrait of the rise of India's new billionaire class in a radically unequal society. India is the world's largest democracy, with more than one billion people and an economy expanding faster than China's. But the rewards of this growth have been far from evenly shared, and the country's top 1% now own nearly 60% of its wealth. In megacities like Mumbai, where half the population live in slums, the extraordinary riches of India's new dynasties echo the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers of yesterday, funneling profits from huge conglomerates into lifestyles of conspicuous consumption. James Crabtree's The Billionaire Raj takes readers on a personal journey to meet these reclusive billionaires, fugitive tycoons, and shadowy political power brokers. From the sky terrace of the world's most expensive home to impoverished villages and mass political rallies, Crabtree dramatizes the battle between crony capitalists and economic reformers, revealing a tense struggle between equality and privilege playing out against a combustible backdrop of aspiration, class, and caste. The Billionaire Raj is a vivid account of a divided society on the cusp of transformation--and a struggle that will shape not just India's future, but the world's"--Dust jacket flap "Over the past two decades India has grown at an unprecedented rate, rivalled only by China. Yet while the Bollygarchs revel in the riches of their new dynasties, millions languish in their shadows, still trapped in the teeming slums of the country's megacities. From the sky terrace of the world's most expensive home to mass political rallies in the streets, James Crabtree documents the struggle between equality and privilege playing out at the heart of this emerging superpower. Against a combustible backdrop of aspiration, class and caste, reformers strive to bring down the corrupt tycoons and the political power brokers who enable them. The Billionaire Raj is a vivid portrait of a divided nation whose future will shape the world."--Información publicada por el editor comercial "Over the past two decades India has grown at an unprecedented rate, rivalled only by China. Yet while the Bollygarchs revel in the riches of their new dynasties, millions languish in their shadows, still trapped in the teeming slums of the country's megacities. From the sky terrace of the world's most expensive home to mass political rallies in the streets, James Crabtree documents the struggle between equality and privilege playing out at the heart of this emerging superpower. Against a combustible backdrop of aspiration, class and caste, reformers strive to bring down the corrupt tycoons and the political power brokers who enable them. The Billionaire Raj is a vivid portrait of a divided nation whose future will shape the world."--Publisher's description A timely account of the emerging superpower that is India and the rise and rise of the Bollygarchs