The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich

by Evan Osnos

From New York Times bestselling and National Book Award–winning author Evan Osnos comes a timely and provocative collection of essays exploring American oligarchy and the culture of excess, providing a wry, unfiltered look at how the ultra-rich shape—and sometimes warp—our social and political landscape.

The ultra-rich hold more of America’s wealth than they did in the heyday of the Carnegies and Rockefellers. Here, Evan Osnos’s incisive reportage yields an unforgettable portrait of the tactics and obsessions driving this new Gilded Age, in which superyachts, luxury bunkers, elite tax dodges, and a torrent of political donations bespeak staggering disparities of wealth and power.

With deft storytelling and meticulous reporting, this is a book about the indulgences, incentives, and psychological distortions that define our economic age. In each essay, Osnos delves into a world that is rarely visible, from the outrageous to the fabulous to the a private wealth manager who broke with members of an American dynasty and spilled their secrets; the pop stars who perform at lavish parties for thirteen-year-olds; the status anxieties that spill out of marinas in Monaco and Palm Beach like real-world episodes of Succession and The White Lotus; the ethos behind the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history; the confessions of disgraced titans in a “white-collar support group.” A celebrated political reporter, Osnos delves into the unprecedented Washington influence of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, drawing on in-depth interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and other billionaires, about their power and the explosive backlash it stirs.

Originally published in The New Yorker, these essays have been revised and expanded to deliver an unflinching portrait of raw ambition, unimaginable fortune, and the rise of America’s modern oligarchy. Osnos’s essays are a wake-up call—a case against complacency in the face of unchecked excess, as the choices of the ultra-rich ripple through our lives. Entertaining, unsettling, and eye-opening, The Haves and the Have-Yachts couldn’t be more relevant to today’s world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, Economics, Essays, History, Sociology

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2025

About the author

Evan Osnos joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2008. He is a correspondent in Washington, D.C. who writes about politics and foreign affairs. He is the author of "Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, May 2014). Based on eight years of living in Beijing, the book traces the rise of the individual in China, and the clash between aspiration and authoritarianism. He was the China Correspondent at The New Yorker magazine from 2008 to 2013. He is a contributor to This American Life on public radio, and Frontline, the PBS series. Prior to The New Yorker, he worked as the Beijing bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune, where he contributed to a series that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He has received the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia, the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, and a Mirror Award for profile-writing. Before his appointment in China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq.

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I started listening toThe Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich, I started reading The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires which provides insight into countries who offer citizenship for a price (typically about $1 million). According to the book, some of the ultra-wealthy have taken advantage of citizenship in countries where they don't reside, and in some instances, where they haven't visited.

Evan Osnos, a writer for the New Yorker, has assembled some of his articles for The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich. Osnos narrates the audiobook. I greatly appreciate authors who narrate their own work.

Some of the articles deal with escapism: obtaining citizenship in other countries, purchasing uber-sized yachts, and ensuring ownership of a survivalist bunker. Some of the luxury bunker locations include Salina, Kansas and New Zealand. One passage ponders what would happen if the resources were focused on providing solutions to many of the issues we face rather than being used for personal escapism.

Generational wealth and philanthropy are also covered. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were the wealthiest men of their generation. Carnegie focused on increasing literacy and built 3,000+ libraries. Rockefeller focused on education and provided generous amounts to Spelman College, the University of Chicago, and other educational institutions.

There were several examples that supported the theory that family wealth is typically destroyed by the third generation. However, that has changed over the past quarter century. Osnos shares some of the challenges huge inheritances have caused within families and with those they trust to manage their money.

One of the essays was about Zachary Horowitz. Horowitz established a Ponzi scheme and defrauded friends, family members, and other investors of $691 million. Osnos indicated there is a documentary called Bad Actor about Horowitz. I plan on watching it.

One other memorable passage asked when did the focus shift from service to self.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will begin by saying that every individual essay in here is interesting, well-conceived, and well-executed. Osnos is a professional journalist and his writing shows it. I am not sad that I read any of these essays and if you have interest in the subject matter, I think you will get a lot out of this book.

However, I am not sure you’ll get any more out of this book than you would if you bought a New Yorker subscription and then clicked through on all his articles about the rich and elite in America. He (or his editor) have tried to organize the ten articles in the book into three sections--How to Spend [Money], How to Keep [Money], and How to Lose [Money], but it’s not always clear why one article has been put one section vs. another. For example, the essay on how Greenwich republicans went MAGA is in the How to Keep [Money] section, when it really seems more about spending money on political influence.

The clearest explanation of what I think the book’s central theme and message is comes in the last essay, about a man who runs a support group for people convicted of white collar crime where he discusses how America spends so much time and effort trying to identify causes of shamelessness and criminality in the lower classes but almost none trying to do the same for the upper classes.

Overall this book is a collection of very interesting anecdotes about the upper class in America. Unfortunately that’s all it is.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was packed with fascinating outrospections on the ways of the ultra-wealthy and how it affects society. We all feel some extra money would improve our lives, but the truth is, even when you have billions, it's NEVER enough. It will always be a cold war in bigger and better and more, whether it be properties, trips, or business ventures. While I appreciated the research and interviews, I did not care for the writer himself as a person, AT ALL. The author seemed to have a worshipful attitude toward the elites, unless, of course, he was talking about Trump, and then it was always in a negative way. Yet he would turn around and revere the Rockefellers' dynasty as philanthropists by taking over the educational and medical fields, when in reality, they were creating harmful synthetic medicines with excess petroleum and needed to erase/demonize herbalism in order to promote it. THE MORE YOU KNOW, right? There was a major focus for awhile on Zuckerberg and Facebook (the author also seemed braggingly that he was able to have these conversations with Zuck), and he had a seriously twisted view of the issues of social media censorship during the Covid era. He boiled it down to Russians infiltrating our social media networks at Putin's behest and misguided Trumpers, when, again, reality hits quite differently when you look at the massive misinformation that was coming directly from the CDC and WHO at that time. His blatant dislike (if not hatred) for Republicans persisted throughout the book, whether ranting about Alex Jones and other conspiracy theorists (here's a secret, there is almost ALWAYS at least some truth in these theories) or turning on Zuckerberg for later being civil with Trump, or critiquing only Republicans when it comes to Senate hearings. It got quite tiring. Nothing got more exhausting, however, than the author's obsessant need to bring Trump into EVERY. SINGLE. ESSAY. If I could offer the author any advice, it would be to get a hobby and stop letting Trump live rent free in his head every day.

DISCLAIMER: I say all of this as someone who did NOT vote for Trump's re-election or as a republican, rather as someone who does not believe in bipartisanship. Both sides are wings on the same bird and ultimately controlled by the same elites like the Bilderberg Group. Just to make that clear. :)

[Weronika · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a collection of previously published, edited articles. It does not work together as a book, focusing mostly on fraud and wanna-bes, not on wealth and the rich.

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evan Osnos is an American journalist. His latest book, 2025's punnily-titled The Haves and Have-Yachts, consists of a series of essays on Stereotypical Stuff Rich People Do/Like. Topics include super yachts, tax avoidance, political control, and, strangely, the economy of private gigs for musicians of current and former fame to play exclusive shows for $$$ (since the paradigm of how musicians make money has shifted in the digital age - see Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist).

This was an interesting essay series, though there are dozens of Youtube channels focused on similar exposés and experiments in immersive journalism along the same lines ("I shopped at Erewhon for a week," "I worked out at $20K/month gym", etc., that savvy Youtubers are likely getting a tax writeoff on anyway).

My statistics:
Book 196 for 2025
Book 2122 cumulatively

[Phil reading_fastandslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evan Osnos’s The Haves and Have-Yachts is one of the most entertaining and quietly infuriating books I’ve read this year. From yacht IMAX theaters to tax loopholes big enough to dock a superyacht in…with a smart, clear-eyed account of how wealth concentration shapes power, culture, and even personality. Osnos is one of the few journalists who can make you laugh at a joke about offshore trusts while also making you feel the slow, sickening drift of democracy out of reach.

The essays (originally from The New Yorker, though they’ve been updated here for 2025 current events) feel more urgent collected together. Patterns emerge: the bunker mentality, the prepper fantasy, the obsession with legacy, the distance from consequence. Osnos doesn’t editorialize much, which is part of what makes the book so effective. The people he interviews often damn themselves in their own quotes. It’s a book about money, yes, but also about fear: fear of decline, of irrelevance, of the masses they’ve left behind.

The book feels essential for this moment. It’s not shrill, not moralizing, just precise and piercing in its observations. Highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays about the uber rich broken into 3 sections on: the rewards (e.g., mega yachts, doomsday prepping, private celebrity concerts), the mechanics (e.g., Facebook, Greenwich CT, wealth management), and the perils (e.g., scammer Zachary Horowitz, Chinese spies, white collar crimes).

I’ve heard about this book in a lot of places recently so I thought it would be fresh, but most of these are old essays that have been repurposed for this book with brief 2025 updates at the end. Overall it was much less titillating than I thought it would be. Nothing here that we haven’t already heard a billion times before.

[Steve Peifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with many collections of articles, this is pretty hit and miss. I read it all, truly enjoyed the yachting and private concerts articles, truly got chills on the Ponzi scheme, and was so so on the rest. It’s worth the read, but no points deducted for skipping an article that doesn’t grab you.

[Abe Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of this is very good, but a lot of it is really average. I was going in expecting the entire book to be like the first set of essays—mega yachts, booking famous singers for events—but instead it was a lot of Gen X colored surprise about the world being a cruel and unfair place. The politics stuff especially, it's like really? The people of Greenwich, Connecticut are conniving and wealthy and have bad politics? (It is worth noting the author is from Greenwich and the city is not included in the index). There's an entire chapter about the paradox of the elite repudiating other elites to win the affection of the masses. Ya doy Tucker Carlson doesn't care about poor people, even though he claims he is one of them, and not part of the cabal of hollywood elites. It's populism 101.

My favorite part of each essay was the note he added at the end of them describing updates to the stories since they'd been originally published. Every single time the blurb was essentially "things have gotten even worse."

I was disappointed because I wanted (shamelessly) a window into the lives of the extravagantly wealthy. I'm sure there is plenty of fraud amongst billionaires, but I also want to hear about the imported marble in their master bathrooms and their cloned pets and plastic surgery.

I would recommend reading (with the help of archive.ph): the titular essay, How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party, Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?, and The Getty the Family's Trust Issues.

[Annie M.]

🎧. interesting, but I feel you could probably just read the pieces that interest you in the New Yorker. that said, good reporting about stuff I didn’t know about.

thank you @librofm for the librarian ALC!!

[vee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am exactly the target audience for this and still found it irredeemably boring

[Nolan O'Reilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give this 2.5 stars, but 2 is what you get when no half stars are allowed and your book sucks! This book hooks you with the title, and then the first three chapters actually relate to the title and are interesting, while the rest of the book is complete and utter garbage. This book is a collection of previously written articles for The New Yorker, some as old as 2018, and only with small paragraph length blurbs at the end of each chapter with minor updates.

Book is broken into three sections, how to spend money, how to keep money, and how to lose money. However despite this there is really no central theme or message. It starts off on being actually about the ultra rich and their lifestyle, and the things they buy, but the second two sections is where i get completely lost. As opposed to being about the ultra rich as a group, it focuses largely on individuals and somehow everything ends up relating back to Trump. Also an entire chapter on Mark Zuckerberg from 2018 seems like a complete waste of time given how much he and his company have changed in the SEVEN YEARS since.

One chapter in the “how to lose money” section is about a wannabe actor who ran a Ponzi scheme, which apparently had a lot of media attention and was made into a netflix documentary. Felt almost clickbaity, and dumb - like oh if I don’t wanna lose money I shouldn’t run a Ponzi scheme!?!? Thanks, how insightful!! Instead he’s just repurposing an article he wrote about something which was relevant in pop culture.

You would think that a book like this should have A TON of stories about tax evasion, and instead you get one chapter which doesn’t really talk about the actual mechanisms that ultra rich use to evade taxes and instead is focused around one woman who used to work for one rich family. Super narrow, and specific anecdotes which work in journalism, but not what I want to read a book about. I wish this book did a lot more getting into the weeds of things. All in all, it is not worth reading and I regret that I helped this author increase his wealth with my purchase of this book.

[Grace Ellen Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was fun. Really interesting collection of essays about the ultra rich (and those who pretend to be ultra rich). The last one about white collar criminals was my favorite.

[Stevie Kaschke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hodge-Podge Articles | Partisan Journalism | Unorganized writing

I didn't realize what this book was before I bought it - and this review mostly reflects that my expectations didn't match the reality of the book I was reading.

This book is essentially a collection of articles the author had already written. Then post-hoc attempted to organize into a book with a theme. The book itself has no central thesis, no theme, no main take away message. And even many of the articles themselves, I was left wondering at the end "what was that even about?"

In fairness, I did listen to this as an audiobook, and may have felt it was better organized if I had read a hard copy instead of listening. But listening was not a great experience from an organizational standpoint. For example, there was a chapter titled "Ghost in the Machine". The title gave no hints as to what the chapter was actually about. After listening to the entire chapter, it seems to be based on an interview the author had with Mark Zuckeberg, then wrote an article loosely around the interview and a few other topics related to facebook. I still would say, there was no main message to that chapter other than "Here's parts of an interview I did with Mark Zuckerberg. Oh and Facebook should be more socially responsible."

The author's political beliefs are also glaringly obvious throughout most of the book and tints the writing from that perspective. For a professional journalist, I just don't think that's great practice. I shouldn't be able to tell your own political beliefs based on your writing.

Parts of the book were interesting, but overall, not what I thought this was going to be.

[Xinyu Tan]

In the recent YouTube video How Historians Work, Stephen Kotkin pointed out that his work, or most of the history, aims to tell the story of accumulating and exercising the power, and their consequences. This book can be read as a story of how super rich people accumulate, maintain, and use their wealth. As a field note, the book doesn’t go in deep analysis about the wealth and power, but from the mention of names, anyone, who follows the American politics, can sense the enormous power the gigantic wealth wields. This feels different from the past. When I was growing up, figures like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, for all their wealth, did not seem to wield such direct political sway. Today’s super-rich, especially those who built the apps we use daily, command two distinct forms of power: one by shaping what we see, read, and buy; another through their wealth and connections to lobby the most powerful offices in the land. I don’t know what our society will look like in 5, 10, or 20 years. Are we in a temporary downturn that will soon reverse? Are we sleepwalking into a crisis that the super-rich are already preparing for? Or, worse, are we drifting toward a long, oppressive era reminiscent of the Dark Ages?

PS: I think the book conveys important messages, but I am not a big fan of Evan Osnos’s writing. Similar to How I felt about Age of Ambition, this work, for all its elegant prose and meticulous reporting, stirs the sensation but yields little insights. Or maybe the people he chose to interview are just not that interesting. I cannot pinpoint what exactly feels short, but Peter Hessler’s reporting usually delights me much more.

[Andrew Pratley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on a series of articles that the author wrote which appeared in the New Yorker magazine. I say this as it makes the book an easy read. It also means that it is not a serious academic enquiry into the current state of the seriously rich. They are if your concerned for them doing okay but they are becoming increasingly worried about growing criticism of their greed, power & other excesses. Reading multiple books on the French Revolution recently I know where this can lead when the majority of the population get fed up with gross inequality & take the law into their own hands. For now the seriously rich are seeking greater physical isolation. Hence the boom in increasingly longer yachts, gated communities, bunkers & places like New Zealand which are both civilized along with being a long way from anywhere.

[Claire Talbot · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book of essays that were originally published in New Yorker Magazine, and then updated for 2025. I was fascinated by some of them - especially the wealthy doomsday preppers, the yacht owners, and the white color crime essay. The essay on "private events" for the ultra rich was eye opening, too - imagine having "Flo-rida" for your corporate Christmas party. The essays that were more political in nature were just hard to listen to right now. The author does a decent job with narration on the audiobook.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd already encountered many of these pieces but enjoyed revisiting them and the 2025 updates

[Tala🦈 (mrs.skywalker.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

suuuuuper ciekawe, wciągające jak powieść, czasami aż absurdalne, bo ci ludzie są absurdalni, a Osnos jest naprawdę świetnym reportażystą, ale:
- brak bibliografii (choć faktycznie autor wiele zrobił sam, ale no nie wszystko, zwłaszcza jeśli chodzi o źródła historyczne)
- trochę stronniczość (wszyscy wiemy, że big techy i Republikanie są be, ale i po innych stronach nie brakuje im równych)

[Ben Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed, learned a bit, made me wanna watch succession. Also made me wonder if I could pull off a Ponzi scheme, which I guess I shouldn’t be admitting to if I were to try it

[Laurie Freund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although not a quick read, it is definitely worthwhile. This collection of essays gives you more than a glimpse of how the very wealthy are able to live so secluded, continue generational wealth beyond the normal cycle, protect their funds, avoid paying their fair share of taxes, and use their power and influence to maintain their status, which widens the economic gap even further.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent essays once published in the New Yorker magazine. Osnos has figured out how to double dip being paid for the essays by the New Yorker and now with royalties from this book. Interesting how most – maybe all – of these articles lead back to Trump.

[mijn jas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well-written 'peek' into the lives of the ultra-rich in (particularly) the United States.

My one critique: The author included certain stories or points that felt like (unnecessary) fillers to create a more exciting narrative. Therefore, I occasionally struggled to distinguish important facts from "fun" facts.

[Dean HOCK1NG · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started so well, the first few chapters were interesting and covered a variety of topics that kept me engaged. However the second half of the book got way too political and focused on individuals in too much detail which made the book quite boring. I didn’t buy the book for an array of politics, I bought it to be entertained about how the American mega rich live, instead I lost interest in what could’ve been a gripping expose

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some essays were great, others felt like they belonged in a different book (ie the Facebook chapter). Each chapter was originally a long form article for the New Yorker (or some other magazine? Can’t remember) and it was pretty obvious. It really didn’t feel like a cohesive book. I skimmed the middle third.

[Kalyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! From the very first page, I was hooked and learned quite a bit along the way. Listening to the audiobook was a great experience—Evan Osnos has a style that reminded me of the documentary shows I used to love, like Modern Marvels on the History Channel or How Do They Do It? on the Science Channel. If you enjoy having the curtain pulled back on power, ambition, and hidden systems, this book will definitely scratch that itch.

The book leans into themes often tied to the male ego—not in a negative sense, but in how it explores influence, power structures, and the mechanisms behind wealth and control. It starts with an engaging deep dive into the lifestyles and mindsets of the ultrarich, particularly the yachting elite, before gradually expanding into broader subjects like Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Trump-era politics, hedge funds, and white-collar crime.

One particularly eye-opening segment covered Greenwich, Connecticut—the hedge fund capital of the world—where wealth and financial ambition collide in fascinating (and sometimes criminal) ways. The exploration of white-collar crime, including why people do it, how they get away with it, and their surprising paths to rehabilitation, was especially insightful.

The section on Zuckerberg and the transformation of Facebook into Meta was also fascinating—it captured how he essentially rebranded and repositioned the company to steer it away from an inevitable public relations storm. It felt like watching a slow-motion escape from disaster.

One standout element was the narrator’s voice in the audiobook—clear, confident, and excellent. It added an extra layer of polish to already sharp journalism.

It’s worth noting that this book is a collection of Osnos's articles from The New Yorker, stitched together into a cohesive narrative. But it never felt disjointed. On the contrary, it showcased the kind of long-form journalism that’s increasingly rare these days. It gave me newfound respect for both the profession and the practitioners of thoughtful, investigative reporting.

Osnos also delves into Trump and his antics more than I expected—not that I disliked it, but it feels like nearly every book I’ve picked up lately includes a Trump segment. I suppose that’s just a reflection of the times.

All in all, I’m very happy with this book and satisfied with my choice. Evan Osnos has definitely earned a place on my radar. I’ll be keeping an eye out for his future work—whether it’s books, podcasts, or talks. A strong recommendation from me if you're curious about the mechanics of extreme wealth and those who wield it.

[🦋Kels🦋 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75-3 stars

I’m going to be really honest, I skipped the middle part of this book 😅. I tried, I did (in print and audio form) but I just couldn’t not get into it! But I’m still counting this book towards my reading goal because it’s my challenge and I can do whatever I want. Lmao 😜

But I will say that the essays that I did read were really fascinating and eye-opening. Have you ever wondered
what you’d do with all your money if you were rich, like ridiculously rich to the point of it being obscene? This book will enlighten you (Answers: buy a giga yacht or build an exorbitant fallout shelter…or both, fuck it. You’re a billionaire! Also while you’re at it, hire Flo-rida for a private performance in the bunker! He’ll do a 30 minute set for a cool 350k 😉).


Favourite Essays

One for the Money-on hiring pop stars for private parties

The Land of Make-believe: the story of Zach Horwitz, a wannabe actor who conned all his friends and their families out of millions of dollars through fraudulent investments.

[Sarah McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really sickened me. A yacht uses as much gas as 1500 passenger cars?!?!?! And these people
Want to tell us to recycled I can’t.

Really just eye opening about how our culture celebrated commercial success so uncritically from insider trading to fraud etc.

Important read but yeah these ultra wealthy absolutely should pay their taxes instead of buying bunkers because they’re afraid of a revolution

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book is divided into three parts -

I. The Rewards - how to spend it

II. The Mechanics - how to keep it

III. The Perils - how to lose it

Great investigative work on the filthy rich. (I think it could be subtitled “In tax avoidance we trust.”)

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a collection of essays, so in my opinions, the levels are different, some articles, such as the ones on yachts and the change is the political tide in his home town, are exceptional; some others, such as the ones in the last part, feel like on the light side.