Garrett Neiman at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes GARRETT NEIMAN—Senior Fellow at Prosperity Now—for a discussion of his new book Rich White Men: What It Takes to Uproot the Old Boys' Club and Transform America. He will be joined in conversation by CHUCK COLLINS—Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies.

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Masks are not required for this event. As of June 1, 2023, masks are encouraged but not required for most Harvard Book Store events, unless otherwise specified. Please review individual listings.

About Rich White Men

It’s no secret that our country has a serious problem when it comes to wealth inequality – and systemic racism and patriarchy have only exacerbated the advantages of wealthy white men. Over the past three decades, America’s richest white men have only become richer, while those suffering in poverty have only gotten poorer. The divide may seem too great to bridge, but Rich White Men exposes the hidden and insidious ways that white male elites inherit, increase, and preserve their status—and, in this book, we get clear on how to uproot their monopoly on power.

Serial nonprofit entrepreneur Garrett Neiman’s day job is to get rich white men to donate money to good causes and organizations. 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. He uses the analogy of compound interest to illustrate how the advantages wealthy white men inherit give them a leg up at key moments in their lives, gilding their trajectories and shutting others out. Through this rare, insider access, readers will discover new ways to persuade the elite toward progressive solutions. A hopeful polemic, the book sheds light on dark truths about inequality and the people invested in preserving it while also providing a blueprint for how America can become an equitable democracy.

Rich White Men reveals that to realize America’s founding aspiration of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we must recognize, dismantle, and transform our current system into one that liberates us all – including this nation’s morally and spiritually impoverished wealthy white men.

Praise for Rich White Men

“Who's sitting at the tables where decisions are made that affect the lives of those deemed unworthy to sit at those tables? It's well past time to name the elephants in the boardroom: rich white men. In accessible language and examples backed by data, Neiman does just that, speaking back to the common myths espoused by rich white men to deny their investment in maintaining inequality. [He] unpacks how racism and classism intersect, and explains why ending poverty alone will not simultaneously end racism. [With] keen perception coupled with humility, Rich White Men offers a road map for authentic transformation of the halls of power.” ―Robin DiAngelo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Nice Racism and White Fragility

“Rich White Men is a timely and piercing expose of how leading entrepreneurs, financiers, and philanthropists contribute to inequality and what we can do to generate more opportunity and prosperity.” ―Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation and author of From Generosity to Justice

“I’ve never read a book as urgent and as unique as Rich White Men. In this tell-all based on years of first-hand witnessing and dozens of interviews, Neiman exposes unflinchingly and unsparingly the logic of structural inequalities. . .’Compounding unearned advantage,’ Neiman’s brilliant metaphor, shows how seemingly small racial and gender advantages starting at birth among some white men can grow exponentially to create great wealth and power over time. And yet, the heart of this passionate and compelling book—which everyone should read—is the path Neiman charts to transform society.” ―Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor at Harvard Kennedy School and author of The Condemnation of Blackness