Binges Of 'High-Beta Rich' Shake Up U.S. Economy

"The rich are not only getting richer, they are becoming more dangerous," Robert Frank writes in his new book The High-Beta Rich: How the Manic Wealthy Will Take Us to the Next Boom, Bubble and Bust.

The spending binges of the top 1%, he says, are "the most unstable force in the economy."

Frank talks with NPR's Neal Conan about how some of the inhabitants of Richistan — a land of private jets, yachts and million-dollar watches — have lost their fortunes, and taken average Americans with them.

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