Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism [Hardcover]

A [Harrington] writes very well about the rules, the way the [offshore] system functions, but also the values of the people who are inside of it. Anne Applebaum on Reading Offshore, Im convinced that we cant make sense of what has brought us to this current moment of political weirdness without taking into account the role of the ultra-rich and their enablers. Freedom is the liberty to not be taxed: noblesse without oblige, as Harrington calls it. Meanwhile, the rest of us stand to become poorer as the tax base is eroded and government support for education, transportation, and health and housing services declines. A remarkable contribution to the sociological literature on economic inequality and global finance& You cannot understand the world of the super-rich without reading Brooke Harrington. Literary, intrepid, and utterly original, she writes with insight and humor. A riveting and eye-opening dive into the offshore world by a sociologist who, through participant observation methods, has revolutionized the study of the subject. This book is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of inequality and the future of democracy. At a time when autocracies are proliferating, and with them practices of institutionalized theft and corruption, sociologist and certified wealth manager Brooke Harrington reveals the workings of the secretive offshore system that props up autocrats and damages democracies around the world. An essential read for our times. An offshore wealth manager turned sociologist offers an ethnography of the tax havens that harbor the fortunes of the ultrarich and drain the worlds tax coffers. Intriguing and timely, this book will be of interest not only to academics, but to anyone seeking an understanding of the hidden forces behind global wealth inequality.