Ben Waber reviewed Offshore by Brooke Harrington
A Well-Researched, Focused Investigation of the Offshore Wealth Industry
4 stars
Harrington takes us deep into the offshore wealth industry, combining a fantastic ethnographic examination (with a shoutout to my thesis reader John Van Maanen!) with macro data on offshore wealth havens to paint a damning picture of a global welfare-reducing complex. Harrington clearly contrasts the current system with capitalism and open markets, arguing convincingly that the current structure is designed to eliminate risk for the ultra wealthy while externalizing their costs to the rest of society. I found the sections detailing developments in Panama, the Cook Islands, and other wealth havens particularly illuminating. Highly recommend