Who hasn’t wondered how it would feel to hit the Jackpot? Whether through the lottery or stock options, with great wealth comes great responsibility (or anguish according to this book). The rich, it turns out, really are different… but not necessarily happier.
Jackpot investigates every aspect of what great wealth does to people and their families. From how much it costs, the loss of privacy due to the required staffing including security, and the struggle of how to avoid spoiling the children, it’s all included here. The book also looks at the impact on society overall of the unprecedented access of the super wealthy to politicians who make the laws.
From someone who binge watches My Lottery Dream Home, this book was an eye-opener. Most of the people on the show win less than a million so the demographics are slightly off. A better analogy is Tom Hanks’ issues with his rapper son Chet. Making life easy for your kids is generally not a good thing according to the book. Some failures in life are character building.
Overall, if you are curious about, or envious of, the extremely wealthy, Jackpot is a must-read. It’s a fascinating look behind the velvet rope that is never seen on carefully curated Instagram posts. 5 stars!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.