Who’s Richer?
Randy Jones | January 8, 2010
The ultra-affluent folks featured are not only the self-made wealthy I write about in The Richest Man in Town, but plenty of them are featured in this entertaining (and highly addictive) game:
There’s No Place Like Home
Randy Jones | May 16, 2009
The eminent novelist Thomas Wolfe once posited that you can’t go home again; in fact, that was the title of one of his best-received novels. Well, I beg to differ. I admit that growing up among the tall pines of Carrollton, Georgia, I often dreamed of the world outside this quaint little hamlet. I wanted to experience that wider world and all its attendant glories. And looking back now, I can say that I have seen much of the world and tasted many of its splendors.
Carrollton doesn’t look that different today from how it did when I was growing up here; there is more traffic, but I would say there is much more culture and sophistication, too. What hasn’t changed, however, is the warmth and grace of her people, and I experienced that in spades this week as I celebrated the release of my new book, The Richest Man in Town, in my hometown. I can’t remember when I’ve had a better time, or a warmer welcome.
Diploma Depression
Randy Jones | April 21, 2009
It’s almost graduation time, and you can feel the anxiety in the air. Very soon, 1.5 million college graduates will be flooding into the worst job market in 25 years, with unemployment at 8.5 percent and rising. According to Nouriel Roubini (also known as “Dr. Doom”), the New York University economist who accurately predicted the current economic meltdown, we can expect the unemployment rate to go into the double digits before we begin to feel the effects of a recovery. To make matters worse, the class of 2009 is competing with 1.8 million degree holders who are already on the street looking for the same jobs. The supply and demand curve is simply not in their favor. Understandably, the fear among this year’s graduates is palpable—but it’s nothing compared to that of their parents.
Graydon Carter: Cafe Sociologist
Randy Jones | April 13, 2009
Graydon Carter and Spy made fun of nearly every rich person or celebrity, and absolutely every symbol of the ostentation of the era. Donald Trump, famously dubbed a “short-fingered vulgarian,” was their favorite target. They were the gadflies of the New York establishment, and they did it brilliantly. Almost 30 years later, Graydon could almost be a target of his former magazine, were it still in existence.
