Rich White Men: What It Takes to Uproot the Old Boys Club and Transform America by Garrett Neiman is a riveting and important read. Author Garrett Nieman takes readers along with him as he addresses the absurd wealth and racial inequality Americans face.
Pairs With: a highlighter and space to reflect.
Overview
Rich White Men is a riveting and important read. Author Garrett Neiman takes readers along with him as he addresses the absurd wealth and racial inequality Americans face and how these problems can be corrected. Nieman does a great job of incorporating thought-provoking quotes, statistics, and personal experiences throughout every chapter. And he shares what his fellow rich white men are saying when asked for their take on race and wealth inequality. Even some of the most progressive rich white men surprise Nieman with their answers.
“In Rich White Men, Neiman brings us into corner offices of billionaires and the boardrooms of Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Stanford, Harvard, and other enclaves of silver-spooned white men to illuminate the role of rich white men in the world and how they justify inequality.”
Nieman disproves these justifications and shows how the old boys’ club way of thinking is antiquated, incorrect, and dangerous to America.
Facts and Stats
Throughout each chapter, Nieman shares fascinating facts and statistics. Below are a few I’ve highlighted throughout the book:
- “White men are 125 times as likely as Black women to become billionaires. And the only reason the disparity can even be calculated is because Oprah Winfrey—America’s only Black female billionaire…”
- “…job applicants whose résumés include upper-class interests like sailing and polo are more likely to be offered interviews than those who list working-class interests like pickup soccer and country music.”
- “Adjusted for inflation, the 2020 federal minimum wage is a third lower than it was in 1970.”
- “And while 78 percent of Americans think the federal government should make sure everyone who wants to go to college can, just 28 percent of wealthy Americans do.”
- “North Americans and Europeans hold 57 percent of the world’s wealth—over $200 trillion—while representing just 17 percent of the global population. Meanwhile, Africans—who represent a similar percentage of the global population—hold just 1 percent of the world’s wealth. Latin Americans hold 2 percent.”
- “Over his lifetime, the typical man does four years less of unpaid work than the typical woman…”
- “Glamour found that men save 362 hours each year by spending less time on basic grooming tasks: doing their hair, shaving, applying and removing makeup, manicuring their nails, selecting outfits, shopping for clothes, waiting in fitting room lines, and waiting in restroom lines. These 362 hours represent forty-five workdays—or 2.3 work months—every year. Over a lifetime, these activities are equivalent to fourteen years of work.”
- “Researchers have found that when women take standardized tests with room temperatures that better align with their metabolic rates, gender gaps in test scores disappear.”
Thought Provoking Quotes
Along with interesting studies and data, Nieman also shares great thought-provoking quotes throughout. Below are just a few I’ve highlighted:
- “We talk about how many women were raped last year,” Katz emphasizes, “not how many men raped women.”
- “It is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- “We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Like slavery and apartheid,” Nelson Mandela once said, “poverty is not natural. It is manmade and it can be overcome and eradicated by the action of human beings.”
- “The mine owners do not find the gold, they do not mine the gold, they do not mill the gold, but by some weird alchemy all the gold belongs to them.” — Bill Haywood, Gold Miner and Union Leader
- “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed.” —Mahatma Gandhi
Conclusion
Nieman does his best to remain open and honest with his experiences. He shares where he has failed when it comes to inequality and what he learned from it. His vulnerability encourages white readers to reflect on their own journey and to address where they can also do better. Hopefully, the facts and quotes give you enough of a preview that they inspire you to read it! As Nieman shows, it is possible to create a society that is beneficial for all instead of a select few.
P.S. If you enjoyed this one you may also like White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and Dark Money by Jane Mayer.
