Summary
Wealth: Laurie Taylor talks to Brooke Harrington, Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, about the world of offshore finance, how it works and its impact, globally. As part of her research, she earned her own wealth management certificate and spent nearly eight years interviewing other professionals in the field, as well as visiting the 18 most popular tax havens in the world—from Mauritius, off the southeast coast of Africa, to the Cook Islands in the middle of the South Pacific - observing and interviewing the experts who keep the secrets and protect the fortunes of the global ultra-rich. Does offshore finance have costs for all of us at a time when democracies seem under threat and deepening inequalities are destabilising the world? Also, Guido Alfani, Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, Milan, explores a 1000-year history of the super-rich in the West from the medieval period to today. He finds that their position within society has long been fragile and precarious. How have the uber rich been viewed by society, over time, and are they ripe for a re-appraisal?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I want to tell you why I love podcasting. |
| 0:04.7 | Hi, my name's Tommy Dixon, and I make podcasts for the BBC. |
| 0:08.4 | I'm a big fan of stories, always loved a good book. |
| 0:11.4 | But when I started commuting for my first job, I discovered podcasts. |
| 0:15.4 | I was blown away by how a creative idea and the right mixture of sounds could take you into |
| 0:19.2 | a whole new world full of incredible stories. You know, the type that make you go, wow. And that kind of inspired me to |
| 0:25.2 | give it a go myself, which to cut a long story short led to a BBC training scheme and a whole |
| 0:30.0 | new career giving other people that exact same feeling. So if you want to hear amazing stories |
| 0:34.2 | that make you go wow like I did, they're just a tap or click away on BBC Sounds |
| 0:38.4 | BBC sounds music radio podcasts this is a thinking aloud podcast from the BBC and for more details |
| 0:49.0 | and much much more about thinking aloud go to our website at BBC.co.com. |
| 0:55.9 | Hello, my good friend and talented sociologist Mary Macintosh sadly died some years ago, |
| 1:04.4 | but she left behind a story that has stayed with me for years because of its, well, its, illustrative |
| 1:10.3 | power. |
| 1:14.6 | Mary was returning home by Tube late at night. |
| 1:18.1 | As she walked along the otherwise deserted underground platform, |
| 1:19.6 | she passed what she took to be, |
| 1:23.0 | a bundle of old clothes piled up against the wall. |
| 1:25.2 | But as she drew level with the rag, |
| 1:27.4 | she was startled to hear a voice emerge. |
| 1:30.4 | "'Good-night, Mary,' said the bundle. |
| 1:33.9 | It was she realised none other than Peter A, |
... |
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