Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way

by Lisa A. Keister

Overview

Although the basic facts about wealth inequality are no longer a mystery, we still know very little about who the wealthy are, how they got there, and what prevents other people from becoming rich. That is, we know very little about the process of wealth mobility. This book investigates some of the most basic questions about wealth mobility. The advantages of owning wealth and the elusive nature of true wealth have long made questions about the wealthy broadly appealing. In recent years, that interest has been amplified by dramatic economic changes and rising wealth inequality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521536677
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/30/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

Lisa A. Keister is associate professor of sociology at the Ohio State University and is the recipient of the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Development Career Award. She is the author of Wealth in America (Cambridge, 2000).

Table of Contents

Part I: 1. I'd rather be rich; 2. Trends in wealth mobility; 3. The new rich; 4. Getting rich; Part II: 5. Family background: parents, structure, and siblings; 6. Family background: culture and religion; 7. Individuals: foundations and occupations; 8. Individuals: adult family; 9. Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

“This book constitutes a major contribution to the field of household wealth and wealth mobility. It is filled with new and intriguing findings on what it takes to become rich in America. Well written and accessible, it should appeal to a wide audience both in the United States and abroad.” — Edward Wolff, New York University

“Lisa Keister has produced a magnificently comprehensive examination of wealth attainment and mobility in the contemporary United States, including historical comparisons to the wealth processes in the early twentieth century. She attends to critical issues of how ethnicity, religion, and gender influence wealth attainment and mobility, and she assesses theories of wealth attainment and mobility using several high quality data sources. Keister's work on the accumulation of fortunes provides a lucid and provocative compliment to Williams Julius Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged.” — Darren E. Sherkat, Southern Illinois University

From the Publisher