Are billionaires a bad thing?

Why the world is falling out of love with the mega rich.

An episode of the Beyond Today podcast, hosted by BBC Radio 4, titled "Are billionaires a bad thing?" was published on November 25, 2019 and runs 20 minutes.

November 25, 2019 ·20m · Beyond Today

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Summary

There are more than 150 billionaires in the UK, but is that concentration of immense wealth actually a sign of failure? Should anyone ever be worth a sum of money that has nine zeroes in it? For decades nobody seemed to question wealth: it was something to aspire to, and the idea that money would trickle down to the rest of society was widespread. But things seem to be shifting. Mainstream politicians are questioning what, until just a few years ago, was the accepted wisdom that it’s fine to be filthy rich as long as you pay lots of tax along the way and then become a philanthropist.We hear from the BBC’s Business editor Simon Jack, and check in with Kerry Dolan, who’s been helping to compile the Forbes rich list for the last 25 years. And our producer Lucy Hancock went to meet artist Darren Cullen, who runs a museum of neoliberalism.Presented by Matthew Price. Producers: Heidi Pett, Lucy Hancock, Katie Gunning. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Editor: John Shields

Episode Description

There are more than 150 billionaires in the UK, but is that concentration of immense wealth actually a sign of failure? Should anyone ever be worth a sum of money that has nine zeroes in it?

For decades nobody seemed to question wealth: it was something to aspire to, and the idea that money would trickle down to the rest of society was widespread. But things seem to be shifting. Mainstream politicians are questioning what, until just a few years ago, was the accepted wisdom that it’s fine to be filthy rich as long as you pay lots of tax along the way and then become a philanthropist.

We hear from the BBC’s Business editor Simon Jack, and check in with Kerry Dolan, who’s been helping to compile the Forbes rich list for the last 25 years. And our producer Lucy Hancock went to meet artist Darren Cullen, who runs a museum of neoliberalism.

Presented by Matthew Price. Producers: Heidi Pett, Lucy Hancock, Katie Gunning. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Editor: John Shields