Jackpot

  • Author: Michael Mechanic
  • Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Duration: 10:34:14
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Synopsis

A senior editor at Mother Jones dives into the lives of the extremely rich, showing the fascinating, otherworldly realm they inhabit—and the insidious ways this realm harms us all.

Have you ever fantasized about being ridiculously wealthy? Probably. Striking it rich is among the most resilient of American fantasies, surviving war and peace, expansions and recessions, economic meltdowns and global pandemics. We dream of the jackpot, the big exit, the life-altering payday, in whatever form that takes. (Americans spent $81 billion on lottery tickets in 2019, more than the GDPs of most nations.) We would escape “essential” day jobs and cramped living spaces, bury our debts, buy that sweet spread, and bail out struggling friends and relations. But rarely do we follow the fantasy to its conclusion—to ponder the social, psychological, and societal downsides of great affluence and the fact that so few possess it.

What is it actually like to be blessed with riches in an era of plagues, political rancor, and near-Dickensian economic differences? How mind-boggling are the opportunities and access, how problematic the downsides? Does the experience differ depending on whether the money is earned or unearned, where it comes from, and whether you are male or female, white or black? Finally, how does our collective lust for affluence, and our stubborn belief in social mobility, explain how we got to the point where forty percent of Americans have literally no wealth at all?

These are all questions that Jackpot sets out to explore. The result of deep reporting and dozens of interviews with fortunate citizens—company founders and executives, superstar coders, investors, inheritors, lottery winners, lobbyists, lawmakers, academics, sports agents, wealth and philanthropy professionals, concierges, luxury realtors, Bentley dealers, and even a woman who trains billionaires’ nannies in physical combat, Jackpot is a compassionate, character-rich, perversely humorous, and ultimately troubling journey into the American wealth fantasy and where it has taken us.

Chapters

  • 001 Jackpot Open

    Duration: 40s
  • 002 Jackpot Introduction

    Duration: 25min
  • 003 Jackpot Part1 Ch1 Jackpot

    Duration: 38min
  • 004 Jackpot Part1 Ch2 RetailTherapy

    Duration: 29min
  • 005 Jackpot Part1 Ch3 TheOne

    Duration: 29min
  • 006 Jackpot Part1 Ch4 FromTheEliteToTheImpossible

    Duration: 25min
  • 007 Jackpot Part2 Ch5 Entourage

    Duration: 36min
  • 008 Jackpot Part2 Ch6 ThePsychologyOfConsumption

    Duration: 26min
  • 009 Jackpot Part2 Ch7 LosingTrust

    Duration: 20min
  • 010 Jackpot Part2 Ch8 TheMarriagePremium

    Duration: 23min
  • 011 Jackpot Part2 Ch9 MyBodyguard

    Duration: 24min
  • 012 Jackpot Part2 Ch10 TheOffspring

    Duration: 31min
  • 013 Jackpot Part2 Ch11 GettingIn

    Duration: 33min
  • 014 Jackpot Part2 Ch12 LosingTouch

    Duration: 21min
  • 015 Jackpot Part3 Ch13 CapitalHill

    Duration: 34min
  • 016 Jackpot Part3 Ch14 TheSnowballGrows

    Duration: 28min
  • 017 Jackpot Part3 Ch15 Dynasty

    Duration: 25min
  • 018 Jackpot Part3 Ch16 WhoWantsToHaveItAll

    Duration: 28min
  • 019 Jackpot Part3 Ch17 ThrivingWhileBlack

    Duration: 41min
  • 020 Jackpot Part3 Ch18 WomenOnTop

    Duration: 27min
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