Carl Rhodes is Professor of Organization Studies and Dean of the Business School, University of Technology Sydney. He studies the ethical and democratic dimensions of business, the economy and work. He is author of the bestselling Woke Capitalism (Bristol University Press, 2021) and a frequent commentator for the press in publications such as The Guardian, The Times, Fast Company, Business Insider and The Conversation.

"For years billionaires have spent vast resources to portray themselves as heroic, generous and meritorious. As this book demonstrates, this ideology is a self-serving veil that appears increasingly misplaced and fragile to many. A must-read." Thomas Piketty, Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and author of Capital in the 21st Century

"In his brilliant exposure, Rhodes convincingly argues we must end our neoliberal governments' complicity with the calamitous power of unrestricted wealth." Lynne Segal, Birkbeck, University of London, author of Lean on Me: A Radical Politics of Care.

"Rhodes skewers four myths around billionaires and shows how the failure of neoliberalism has led to a reaction against them, who were both its beneficiaries and its propagators." John Quiggin, University of Queensland

"Stinking Rich lifts the veil over the 'good' billionaire to reveal a world of unearned advantage, unaccountable power and market exploitation. A book with far-reaching implications", Myra Hamilton, author of The Privileged Few

"The deserving billionaire is a figment of their own imagination, a self-delusion functional to their struggle to legitimise their illegitimate, toxic wealth. Carl Rhodes explains why." Yanis Varoufakis, University of Athens

"Are the super-rich also super-virtuous? As Carl Rhodes shows, they would like us to think that they are - but in the end, they are only people, just wealthier than the rest of us". Guido Alfani, Bocconi University, Milan (Italy). author of As Gods Among Men. A History of the Rich in the West

"Today's billionaire barons hide their disproportionate power behind the veneer of democratic affability and everyman relatability. Piercing the façade, this book deserves to be widely read", Linsey McGoey, University of Essex, author of The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World

Publisher: Bristol University Press

Pub date: 2026-01-01

Length: 218 pages