In Search of the Super-Rich: Who Are They? Where Are They?

Abstract

Cities, and particularly the leading world cities, are the sites where extreme inequalities find their most visible contemporary expression. They are, it seems, both the playgrounds and projects of a new overclass of super-rich. This introductory chapter sets out some of the conceptual key issues around these assumptions as a precursor to the more detailed discussions which follow. The chapter focuses on three questions: How do we construct this category of “super-rich”? Where do we find them? Where do cities and urban development fit into the picture? The final section of the chapter provides a brief guide to the structure and logic of the book.