The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age: Crabtree, James: 9781524760069: Amazon.com: Books

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The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age Hardcover – July 3, 2018

by James Crabtree (Author)

4.2 461 ratings

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A colorful and revealing portrait of the rise of India’s new billionaire class in a radically unequal society

India is the world’s largest democracy, with more than one billion people and an economy expanding faster than China’s. But the rewards of this growth have been far from evenly shared, and the country’s top 1% now own nearly 60% of its wealth. In megacities like Mumbai, where half the population live in slums, the extraordinary riches of India’s new dynasties echo the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers of America's Gilded Age, funneling profits from huge conglomerates into lifestyles of conspicuous consumption.

James Crabtree’s The Billionaire Raj takes readers on a personal journey to meet these reclusive billionaires, fugitive tycoons, and shadowy political power brokers. From the sky terrace of the world’s most expensive home to impoverished villages and mass political rallies, Crabtree dramatizes the battle between crony capitalists and economic reformers, revealing a tense struggle between equality and privilege playing out against a combustible backdrop of aspiration, class, and caste.

The Billionaire Raj is a vivid account of a divided society on the cusp of transformation—and a struggle that will shape not just India’s future, but the world’s.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tim Duggan Books
Publication date

July 3, 2018
Dimensions

6.49 x 1.31 x 9.53 inches
ISBN-10

1524760064
ISBN-13

978-1524760069
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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

461 global ratings

5 star		49%
4 star		28%
3 star		15%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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Reinhard Strauss-Heydrich

Amazing amount of detail about Indian politics written in a captivating style

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2022

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This is book written by an Anglo Saxon author who apparently spent some years in the recent past in India.
Amazing knowledge of the Indian political system and its politicians by an outsider.
He shows that intermingling of corruption with fabulous riches, but the corruption is not all theft - many factories, airports and some vast industrial empires were built.

India now has at least one maybe two persons on the world’s twenty richest persons list.
I visited India twice - once in 1976 and then in 2002. I could never have imagined the fabulous transformation of parts of the country for some people to this type of wealth.

Having said that, what I read in the current financial press indicates that India is still a very poor country for many but very rapidly developing.

Mr Crabtree has done an eye opening job. Highly recommend to all.

Christopher M. Schroeder

One of the most important books on India today

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2018

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James superbly examines three foundational forces of India today, that are also quite familiar both globally and here in the States — a rising and significant inequality of wealth; how the rich have become super rich; and the role of “crony capitalism” is making it so. He provocatively in ways I had not considered compares India today with our own experience in our “Gilded Age” of Rockefeller’s and Carnegies in the 19th century. Then as now, he underscores “the speed which they built their fortunes and lack of conscience they displayed while doing so.” But, then as now, it ushered in a new political era of progressives who were willing to reign in corruption and excess foundational to America in the next century.

Telling the near spy-novel like rise of remarkable, little known in the West figures who built empires especially in areas of land, natural resources and government contracts and licenses — it was clear why a symbiotic relationship with the myriad of national and local government and politics exists. He is even handed with a reporters eye on the rise of Modi and his efforts to tame corruption and shift India into a new era, and the forces and personal challenges that weigh heavily upon it. He provocatively suggests — as the likes of Samuel Huntington, Robert Kiltgaard and Gunnar Myrdal have — that some corruption is useful as it greases the skids to get things done where infrastructure is poor and access to capital low.

4 people found this helpful

Galloping Gatsby-esq Tales from India

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2018

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Crabtree knows how to tell a story, and his book is riddled with details of unrivaled access to some of the richest Bollygarchs from India. Humorous and deftly written, he takes us inside the homes, jets, and boardrooms of the tycoons steering (and sometimes running aground) one of the fastest growing economies. For anyone who wants to understand the flamboyant corners of India and the extreme disparities we might learn to probe and question, this book is a must. Rather than an ode to the high growth promise of another emerging giant Crabtree pokes holes at how this engine has left many behind, stuck far below the glass towers, and beyond the tinted windows. An important overview by someone intimately familiar with India, but also someone also not hypnotized by its magesty.

One person found this helpful

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India between 2000 & 2017

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2019

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I think this book is an economic chronicle of india’s two decades post the liberalization of 90’s. Whoever reads it , needs to read it again in 2025. Good read, but could have avoided devoting a whole chapter on cricket betting. There are better books to cover that topic. In contrary devoting a chapter on Media influence is a good one.

Luciana Russo Vichino

Interesting reading

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2019

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Intense and agile starts very well but becomes a bit tiring towards the end when the chapters are all about politics with too many names and examples about the same stuff. A good portrait of India and an interesting reference to other emerging markets.

2 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2018

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Interesting history of India’s development as a country and business’s impact.

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2018

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Seemed like a series of incoherent concepts but overall an decent read. The premise is important and deep dive into the concepts would have been great.

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2019

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It gives you a clear picture of Indian politics in a very interesting way. It is very pleasant to read. Highly recommend it.

Top reviews from other countries

Bala Menon

A critique on Indian capitalism

Reviewed in India on August 13, 2018

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I ordered the Kindle version of James Crabtree's first book, "The Billionaire Raj: A Journey through India's New Gilded Age" as soon as it was launched. I had come to know of it through a tweet by a journalist who was happily endorsing Mr. Crabtree's account of his time as the Mumbai bureau chief of The Financial Times. I have never really read the newspaper apart from a few articles here and there that had piqued my interest but had always known about the reputation. For someone having a middle-class existence in Mumbai (actually, Navi Mumbai), the title itself was engaging enough to trigger my urge to lay my hands on the book.

I will first jump to my verdict. It is a truly fantastic take on India's current economic and political standing that has been weaved together by government policy (and at times the lack of it), widespread poverty, booming middle-class wealth and the towering presence of its billionaire industrialists. It is the last part that the author puts his focus most on.

The Billionaire Raj begins on a very interesting note with a narrative on the curious case of the Aston Martin and its alleged link to Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries Ltd. With this, Mr. Crabtree skillfully lets the ball rolling by throwing some light on a subject which most of the media houses in India were reluctant (or even petrified) to report adequately. The book then goes on to give a rather blunt portrayal of the towering opulence that is Antillia, the billion-dollar residence of Ambani.

Mr. Crabtree then turns his focus on the other two media favourites among the Indian billionaires over the past few years - Vijay Mallya and Gautam Adani. Though he does not explicitly state that all these barons clearly won favours from the governments of the day, the sense always prevails that cronyism has helped sustain plenty of businesses and even empires in India.

There is a lot of space dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well and how he came to power promising economic reforms to a country that faced a drought of them in the years before and how he actually has not managed to deliver and instead pandered to taking populist decisions. Though the book clearly gives respect to Modi as the head of a state, it is largely critical of him, and fans of Modi will take umbrage. However, it is to be mentioned that it notes that he has kept a tight fence around the corridors of power to keep out lobbyists who earlier had the rights to loiter around. It also tries to paint a slightly sympathetic picture of him in that he arrived in New Delhi in a stark departure from his earlier pursuits of a religious zealot and with genuine intentions of ushering in much-needed economic reforms. Mr. Crabtree, at the same time, minces no words by saying that Modi has failed to rein in some of his partymen who are openly communal and comes down hard on him for having installed Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

It is this seemingly balanced take on matters that makes The Billionaire Raj a delightful read. From one perspective, it is undoubtedly critical of India's state of affairs. From another, it is sympathetic. It ends with a well-wishing note to all Indians who continue to aspire to better lives regardless of their current economic state.

I did feel that there was a couple of gaps, albeit excusable ones for sure. The chapter on Arnab Goswami and his theatrics looked slightly disconnected from the main premise but it in itself is an engrossing read, much like the rest of the book. There was an editorial oversight as well - in one of the chapters Rahul Gandhi is referred to as the grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru when actually, he is his great-grandson.

Mr. James Crabtree has wonderfully brought out the account of his journalistic pursuits and assiduous observations during his time in India and the result is one of the best books of the year you can read. And I sincerely hope that he will churn out more such products of his gifted analytical mind.

58 people found this helpful

Nathik

Medicore book that's is masterfully marketed

Reviewed in India on January 13, 2019

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"The Billionaire Raj" is one of the books that are often sited as best books of 2018 many commentators and journalists in India. The writer has worked in India as journalists until 2016 and someone who knows the country quite well. This peaked my interest in the book.

The book is loosely divided into three parts. First part focus on the Billionaire of India (Crabtree dubs them as "Bollygrach"). The second part focus on crony captalisim in Indian and third part focus on the boom and bust cycle of the industrialized economy. The author doesn't strictly sticks to the subjects and often stray from it. I thought the chapters on IPL and Arnab Goswami are distraction/fillers.

What frustrated me most is the lack research went into the book. The writer gets some basic facts wrong(like calling Rahul Gandhi as Nehru's grandson). Looks to me the writer wanted to make some money from his experience in India. If you are from India or someone who has lived there for a while then I suppose you have nothing new to learn from this book. James Crabtree must thank his colleagues and friends in the print media for doing him a service of promoting this book as the one of the best fiction of 2018 when it's far from it.

24 people found this helpful

Karan Jhamb

A good read

Reviewed in India on March 20, 2022

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My curiosity in this book was spurred by the question of who is the middle class in India and how far are they from the rich. The book establishes that fact early on: $32K or about 21 lakhs in assert is all that’s needed to qualify as the top 1pc in 2016. It then moves to the difference between the richest of the rich and the others and how they have amassed their wealth.

The books names all the usual suspects from Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani to GVK in Andhra Pradesh and how the rise of billionaires is linked to the political economy of India i.e the money needed to fight elections. It delves extensively into the post liberalisation growth and scams and even astutely makes the case for corruption being a necessary evil when differentiating the billionaires of south vs north ex Sahara vs GVK. The many similarities and differences are interesting as a read as are the comparisons with other economies from USA to Russia.

The book touches upon caste as a social capital and how it fuels the growth of billionaires and how it goes hand in hand with politics. The rise of Jayalalitha and Narendra Modi make for an interesting comparison and how demagoguery is central to both leaders given their different political ideologies is truly fascinating.

Not just business it also touches upon the lure of the IPL and it’s mega business linked to owners and the politics behind the scenes. Although it doesn’t touch upon the movie industry, either Bollywood or any of the southern ones. Maybe because their is no billionaire there yet but it does highlight overlaps across with folks such as Ponty Chaddha and the ownership of IPL teams by Bollywood celebrities.

The book takes the reader on an interesting webbed journey across business and politics interspersed with references galore and will give a great perspective on the rise of super rich till 2015. The author left India in 2016 so I feel that some of the important advances in the relationship between politics and business such as bond funding completely go missing from the narrative. It rarely if ever offers solutions to any of the problems that it highlights but gives a very good summary of how the business-politics nexus works.

I would absolutely recommend this to those who are looking for a starting point to understand the inequality in India and how it’s fuelled. It will also be a good refresher for those who are keen to know more about the Boligarchs or the Indian billionaires. Overall rating 3.5/5.

Navi

4 stars!

Reviewed in Canada on February 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

This was an informative and well-written book. I recommend it with a small caveat. I would advise reading a quick Wikipedia entry on modern Indian history (specifically focusing on India's Independence) before picking this book up. At times, I felt a bit bogged down by the political details but thankfully I was reading on my Kindle which allowed easy access to Wikipedia for further reading.

This book goes into great detail examining how corruption is deeply embedded in Indian society - especially for the impoverished. When you live so far below the poverty line, you will do what needs to be done to get by.

The sections on the billionaires was fascinating to read about. It is surreal to think that these wealthy individuals live in such close proximity to people who live on less than $1/day. It truly emphasized the economic disparity between the rich and poor.

Somjit Das

A Candid representation of Indian economy's boom years and the actors behind

Reviewed in India on December 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book impeccably explains the boom and doom years of Indian economy post 2000s. The moguls begins the scene and how indian economic actors mimick the American Guilded age actors during 1900s. The crony capitalists of South, the andhraprenuers and rubber Barrons of north with their intricate and mallicious agenda is explicated with unwavering precision. The research done from various eclectic sources is pristine and breathtaking. However I don't agree with conclusion and possible futuristic scenario of India, the parralels drawn with our current prime minister and the changes happening in political landscape. The wisdom was missing. India is an enigma, a nation gifted by the gods, it has its own destiny irrespective of the malice existing in pockets.

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