Synopsis
In The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich, Evan Osnos, a staff writer for The New Yorker and National Book Award winner, delivers a piercing exploration of America’s modern oligarchy, a class of ultrarich individuals whose wealth and influence have surpassed the Gilded Age titans like Carnegie and Rockefeller. Through a series of meticulously reported essays, originally published in The New Yorker and later revised and expanded, Osnos pulls back the curtain on the extravagant, often absurd, and deeply consequential world of the 0.01%. The book is not merely a voyeuristic glimpse into opulence but a critical examination of how this concentration of wealth distorts social, political, and economic landscapes, reshaping the fabric of American life. Osnos combines deft storytelling with anthropological precision, presenting a narrative that is equal parts entertaining, unsettling, and urgent, as he argues that the choices of the ultrarich ripple far beyond their private enclaves, affecting society at large.
Osnos begins by immersing readers in the ostentatious trappings of extreme wealth, where superyachts—referred to as “gigayachts” for their staggering size—serve as floating symbols of status and excess. He recounts anecdotes like Jeff Bezos’s $485 million yacht Koru, too tall to pass under Rotterdam’s iconic bridge, sparking a public outcry when its builders proposed dismantling the structure. These vessels, Osnos notes, are not just toys but microcosms of a worldview, equipped with personal submarines, eel-leather upholstery, and helicopter-delivered delicacies like Zabar’s bagels or rare Hokkaido melons. The book highlights the absurdity of such indulgences, such as “experiential yachting” programs that stage mock naval battles like the Battle of Midway for bored billionaires, or private performances by artists like Flo Rida at lavish bar mitzvahs. Yet, Osnos goes beyond the spectacle, revealing the psychological distortions that accompany such wealth—status anxieties that play out in the marinas of Monaco and Palm Beach, reminiscent of fictional dramas like Succession or The White Lotus. These stories underscore a culture of conspicuous consumption, echoing Thorstein Veblen’s 19th-century theories, where wastefulness itself becomes a marker of power.
Beyond the flamboyance, Osnos delves into the mechanisms that sustain and expand this wealth, exposing the intricate web of tax dodges, legal maneuvers, and political influence that keep the ultrarich insulated from accountability. He profiles estate planners who devise schemes like flying private jets to meetings to obscure trust operations from tax authorities, and a private wealth manager who, after breaking with an American dynasty, reveals the secretive financial machinations of the elite. Osnos also explores the darker underbelly of this world, such as the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history, orchestrated by a charismatic but mediocre actor leveraging social media clout, or the confessions of disgraced moguls in a “white-collar support group,” where shamelessness among the elite is laid bare. These accounts illustrate not only the audacity of the ultrarich but also the systemic vulnerabilities that allow such schemes to flourish, often at the expense of broader society.
The book’s political dimension is equally compelling, as Osnos examines the unprecedented influence of Silicon Valley and Wall Street in Washington, D.C. Drawing on in-depth interviews with figures like Mark Zuckerberg, he traces how tech and finance billionaires have amassed not just wealth but political clout, evident in their prominent roles at events like Donald Trump’s second inauguration, where figures like Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Elon Musk shared the stage. Osnos argues that this concentration of power has fueled a new American oligarchy, one that operates with little shame or pretense, as seen in ventures like Peter Thiel’s Seasteading Institute, which dreams of floating libertarian mini-states free from government oversight. The book also connects these modern excesses to historical precedents, noting that even the Crusaders’ trusts were early tax dodges, but emphasizes the scale of today’s disparities—between 1990 and 2023, U.S. billionaires grew from 66 to over 700, while median wages barely budged.
Ultimately, The Haves and Have-Yachts is a wake-up call, urging readers to confront the dangers of complacency in the face of unchecked excess. Osnos does not prescribe solutions but paints a vivid portrait of a society at a tipping point, where wealth inequality rivals that of ancient civilizations. His essays, praised for their wit and narrative flair, balance the ludicrous with the profound, offering a history lesson wrapped in a yacht party. The book challenges readers to consider the moral and structural implications of a world where the ultrarich can “get away with it,” whether by retreating to luxury bunkers in former missile silos or wielding outsized influence over democracy. Entertaining yet enraging, Osnos’s work is a clarion call to recognize the stakes of this new Gilded Age, where the indulgences of a few shape the realities of the many.