New Books Network Peter S. Goodman, "Davos Man: How the Billionaire Class Devoured Democracy" (Custom House, 2022)
Feb 9, 2026
Peter S. Goodman, New York Times global economics correspondent and author of Davos Man, profiles the billionaire class and its rise. He recounts pandemic-driven acceleration of wealth centralization. He examines Davos, stakeholder capitalism as PR, ties between finance and politics, and calls for rules over philanthropy.
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Inequality Fueled Political Upheaval
- Peter S. Goodman links rising right-wing populism to decades-long, gradual concentration of wealth that eroded democratic trust.
- He argues the pandemic accelerated visible consequences of that wealth transfer, exposing systemic vulnerabilities.
The Davos Man Defined
- Goodman defines "Davos Man" as a global billionaire class whose fortunes cross jurisdictions and whose allegiance is to profit, not nation or ideology.
- He frames their central myth: wealth for the rich somehow benefits everyone via trickle-down narratives.
Davos Panels Vs. Private Meetings
- Goodman recounts attending Davos 2017 and hearing platitudes like meditation or deregulation as solutions to inequality.
- He describes executives using the forum to signal virtue while avoiding substantive wealth redistribution.
