They are the same as you and me1 in many ways2. But in one important way they are very different. They have more power3, more influence and more money -- in fact4, a lot more money. Billions more.
The world’s super-rich are the subject5 of a new book called “Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust6.” In American English, the term “upper crust” describes7 people who belong to8 the highest social class9. Members of this class are not always wealthy10, but often11 are.
Darrell West wrote12 the new book. Mr. West is the director of governance13 studies at the Brookings Institution, a policy group14 based in Washington, DC.
Mr. West says the wealthiest15 one percent of Americans own about one-third16 of the country’s “assets17” – another word for money and property18. The wealthiest one percent of individuals worldwide19 own 40 percent of the world’s assets.
“What I wanted to do was just kind of20 do a serious analysis of billionaires in terms of who they are, how they got21 their money, how they’re using their money, and also just what they’re like22 personally23 because I think many peopleare just curious about24 these individuals."
Who exactly25 are the world’s billionaires? Mr. West examined the Forbes billionaires list. He found that26 90 percent of those listed are male27, “65 percent are white and 60 percent are 60 years of age or older.” Twenty-six percent are of Asian ancestry28 “and only two percent are under the age of29 40.” Mark Zuckerberg, for example, is the founder30 of the social networking service Facebook. He is 30 years old. Forbes estimates he is worth over31 $33 billion.
Darrell West found that the United States is home to nearly32 one-third of all known33 billionaires, and eight of the 10 wealthiest people in the world. A group that reports on billionaires says about 65 percent of them created their wealth34. In other words, it was not given to them35 by their parents.
Years ago, great wealth was made in areas like steel manufacturing36, finance, automobiles, mining37, energy and communications. But today, the richest Americans are more likely38 to have ties39 to computer software companies, business investments and retail businesses40.
Microsoft’s founder and former chairman41 Bill Gates is at the top of the list. He is reported to be worth more than$82 billion. Another famous billionaire is investor Warren Buffet. Forbes says he is worth about $70billion.
American billionaires spend42 tens or hundreds of millionsof dollars in support43 of political campaigns. Some own media companies and use them to influence issues44, candidates and office-holders45. They often use their power in secret to gain special treatment46 for their interests. Mr. West says he is worried about47 this “combination of wealth and secrecy48.” He believes it affects how governments operate and may limit social and economic opportunity.
But billionaires are not always successful49 in their efforts50 to influence politics. Many wealthy Americans supported former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the US presidential election two years ago. But Mr. Romney lost to President Barack Obama.
Some billionaires have been supporting immigration reform and gun control. But they have not been successful in persuading Congress to change the laws governing those issues.
Some billionaires have attempted to change51 the country’s education system. Marshall Tuck was a candidate for the top education position in California. He received campaign donations52 from a number of billionaires who support reforms in education. The group included Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor53 of New York City. But earlier this month, Mr. Tuck lost in his effort to become54 California’s superintendent of education.
Writer William Lind believes that American billionaires are not as powerful as one might think55. Mr. Lind is a fellow56 at the New America Foundation.
He recently wrote about billionaires for Politico magazine. He says American billionaires have successfully influenced57 only a few social policies58. He says they have failed in their attempts59 to reform America’s immigration policy. He says billionaires have not succeeded at forcing changes to government programs set up60 to help older Americans and pay for their health care61. And they have not been able62 to change the education system in the way they want.
“I think the idea that the rich get their policy preferences without any significant opposition, that’s simply63 not the case. There are issues where wealthy people do get their way, and those tend to be issues where the public is inattentive64 or doesn’t have strong views.”
William Lind says politicians in democratic countries often like to please65 people who give them money for their campaigns -- especially rich donors. But he says an officeholder may act differently if he or she believes that supporting a position will lead to his or her removal66 from office.
“Voters still count. They make a difference. The voters actually67 do have their own views. In a way this narrative that the rich own all the politicians and brainwash68 all of the people to vote against their interests it shows not only a lack of acknowledgement69 of the extent to which voters still have independent power, but it, it shows a kind of a contempt70 for the intelligence of voters – it assumes they’re just easily brainwashed by advertisements71 bought by rich people.”
Darrell West says billionaires have a lot of power. But he agrees with William Lind that people in democracies also have power, helped by the news media. He says the more billionaires there are in a country, the less power each one has.
“I think the United States is well-positioned to have a politically-competitive system, just because we have 500 billionaires, they often don’t agree on the issues -- and so there’s a classic ‘divide and conquer’ phenomenon. When you go to other countries, where they have a very small number of billionaires and they’re often in cahoots72 with the government leaders, I would be much more worried about that situation than the American situation.”
Darrell West says governments need to put in place73 policies that help citizens74 know more about the activities of rich people in their country.
I’m Christopher Cruise.
VOA Washington correspondent Christopher Cruise reported this story forLearning English.
He also read and produced it. George Grow edited it.
Vocabulary
1.
the same as you and me =
o mesmo que voce e eu
2. ways = formas. Maneiras
3. power = poder
4. in fact = na verdade
5. subject = assunto
6.
Upper Crust = camada superior
7. Describes = descreve
8. belong to = pertence a
9.
the highest social class = a mais alta classe social
10.wealthy = ricos
11.often = frequentemente
12.wrote =
escreveu
13.governance = administração
14.policy group =
grupo de diretrizes
15.the wealthiest =
o mais rico
16.own about one-third =
possuem aproximadamente um terço
17.“assets” =
ativos
18.Property = propriedade
19.worldwide =
mundialmente
20.kind of =
de certa forma
21.got =
conseguiram
22.what they’re like = como eles são
23.personally =
pessoalmente
24.curious about = curioso a respeito de
25.exactly =
exatamente
26.found that =
descobriu que
27.male = do sexo masculine
28.Asian ancestry =
descendencia asiática
29.under the age of = abaixo da idade de
30.founder =
fundador
31.he is worth over =
ele vale mais que
32.nearly =
quase
33.known =
conhecidos
34.wealth = riqueza
35.it was not given to them =
não foi dado a eles
36.steel manufacturing = fabricação de aço
37.mining = mineração
38.likely =
provável
39.ties = ligações
40.retail businesses = empresas de varejo
41.former chairman =
ex presidente
42.spend = gastar
43.support =
apoio
44.issues = assuntos, questões
45.office-holders = titulares de cargos
46.treatment =
tratamento
47.worried about
= preocupado com
48.secrecy = sigilo
49.successful
= bem-sucedido
50.efforts =
esforços
51.have attempted to change =
tem tentado mudar
52.campaign donations =
doações de campanha
53.former mayor =
ex-prefeito
54.become = tornar-se
55.as powerful as one might think
= tão poderoso quanto se pode pensar
56.fellow =
companheiro
57.have successfully influenced =
tem influenciado com sucesso
58.social policies = politicas sociais
59.attempts =
tentativas
60.set up =
estabelecimento, instalação
61.health care = assistência médica
62.have not been able
= não tem sido capazes
63.simply
= simplesmente
64.inattentive =
desatento
65.please = agradar
66.removal =
remoção
67.actually
= realmente
68.brainwash = lavagem cerebral
69.lack of acknowledgement
= falta de reconhecimento
70.kind of a contempt =
uma espécie de desprezo
71.advertisements = propagandas
72.cahoots = conluios, “acordos sujos”
73.put in place =
colocar em ação
74.citizens = cidadãos
