Wanna know who is really in the top 1%? And how they use their influence? It may not be who you think.

Look beyond Silicon Valley. Look beyond Wall Street. Look beyond the “oligarchs”. There’s a much larger class of wealthy Americans hiding in plain sight. And, often, they got rich in mundane ways. They own car dealerships. They sell hot dogs and frozen mini-quiches. They run waxing salons. They supply fabricated metal and urinal cakes. They are dentists.

Collectively, these “Main Street millionaires” control much more wealth than the billionaire lightning rods who launch rockets into space, appear on manosphere podcasts, and have Hollywood movies made about them. Many of these millionaires have also grown rich enough to afford superyachts, 10,000-square-foot homes, and pet tigers. 

At the center of their story is a quiet revolution in the American economy: the rise of a particular kind of private business. On today’s show, how did the power of the “stealthy wealthy” millionaires come to rival that of the billionaire oligarchs? And, how are they shaping policies that lower their taxes and raise your prices?

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This episode was hosted by Greg Rosalsky and Sarah Gonzalez. It was produced by Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Marianne McCune with fact checking help from Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. 

Music: NPR Source Audio – “Collectible Kicks,” “Blazed and Emboldened,” and “Arturo’s Revenge

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