Billionaire Wilderness takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today’s richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States, and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, oil magnates, and other prominent figures in business and politics. He also talked with the rural poor who live among the ultra-wealthy and often work for them. The result is a penetrating account of the far-reaching consequences of the massive accrual of wealth, and an eye-opening and sometimes troubling portrait of a changing American West where romanticizing rural poverty and conserving nature can be lucrative—socially as well as financially.
Weaving unforgettable storytelling with thought-provoking analysis, Billionaire Wilderness reveals how the ultra-wealthy are buying up the land and leveraging one of the most pristine ecosystems in the world to climb even higher on the socioeconomic ladder. The affluent of Teton County are people burdened by stigmas, guilt, and status anxiety—and they appropriate nature and rural people to create more virtuous and deserving versions of themselves. Incisive and compelling, Billionaire Wilderness reveals the hidden connections between wealth concentration and the environment, two of the most pressing and contentious issues of our time.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Contemporary Nonfiction, Western Writers of America
- Finalist for the Reading the West Book Award in Adult Narrative Nonfiction
- One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership
Justin Farrell is associate professor of sociology at Yale University in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is the author of the award-winning book The Battle for Yellowstone: Morality and the Sacred Roots of Environmental Conflict (Princeton). A native of Wyoming, he lives in New Haven and Denver. Website: justinfarrell.org John Chancer is an award-winning narrator of hundreds of audiobooks. An actor with a long association with theater on both sides of the Atlantic, he has appeared in dozens of TV and film roles and has voiced numerous audio dramas, radio plays, video games, and cartoons.
"Excellent and inspiring."—Nathan Deuel, Los Angeles Times
"Clearly outlines the roots of the problems: policy, western mythologies, tax breaks, and selfishness."—Heather Hansman, Outside Magazine
"Fascinating."—Chris Schleup, Amazon Book Review Omnivoracious
"Enlightening. . . . Peels away a lot of pretty scenery to reveal things underneath a lot less pleasing to look at."—Mark Huffman, Jackson Hole News & Guide
"One of the most fascinating and important portraits of modern American life."—Dylan Schleicher, Porchlight
"An eye-opening look at a specific element of economic and social inequality."—Kirkus Reviews
"A Yale sociology professor documents the class divide in Teton County, Wyo., where ultra-wealthy tech CEOs, financiers, and political figures are buying up land and romanticizing rural poverty in order to improve their own socioeconomic status."—Publishers Weekly
"Farrell has done a massive amount of research in this absorbing study of the ultra-rich and their effect on the community."—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post
"Billionaire Wilderness is a thoroughly reported, measured account of what it's like to live in Wyoming's new Gilded Age, and a welcome addition to the national debate on the American West—what it's for, who it belongs to, and who gets to decide its future."—Nate Blakeslee, New York Times bestselling author of American Wolf
"This important and innovative book offers a rarely seen glimpse into the lives of the ultra-wealthy, exploring the ways in which they think about status, social inequality, privilege, and the environment in a context where all of these factors collide on a regular basis."—David Naguib Pellow, author of Total Liberation: The Power and Promise of Animal Rights and the Radical Earth Movement
"Justin Farrell explores a bold new understanding of nature and people in America's wealthiest county. This startling, provocative, and respectful analysis of conservation and the Teton community will ignite important future scholarship. A must-read."—Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Mason University
