The Billionaire Raj by James Crabtree
8 out of 10India has been a stratified society for thousands of years. It has also been a recurring key figure in international trade. Furthermore, it has never been immune to corruption and cronyism. So what is going on now that is different? Economic reforms were enacted in 1991 to liberalize free markets in the world's largest democracy. As a result, many entrepreneurs got ridiculously wealthy in resource extraction, industrial manufacturing, media, entertainment, finance, technology, etc. Is this bad? Did it create more inequality and less harmony? Somewhat analogous to "The Gilded Age" in the US (the rise of Vanderbilt, Rockafeller, Carnegie, et al.), excessive riches could be a natural result of freedom and growth. There has been much less poverty and a ballooning middle class who demand transparency. We shall see if civil service laws can reduce nepotism and bribery among government officials. The concern that India's elite will become self-serving oligarchs is genuine. However, optimism exists that Narendra Modi and his successors can usher in a trust-busting "Teddy Roosevelt-style" Progressive Era.