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The Natural History of the Rich: A Field Guide, Richard Conniff
Arrow
Reviewed by Kath Brown (Courtesy of Taranaki Daily News)

Many of us (us being the hoi polloi) are fascinated with the rich and famous. We like to know all the trivia of their lives, every juicy bit of gossip. We wonder at their wastrel ways, their disdain of societal rules, but still we devour every bit of information made up about them.

And we are not alone. Oh no. According to Richard Conniff, the fabulously rich are as fascinated with each other as we are with them.

This book is a study of animal behaviour, and the animals are the fabulously rich who inhabit the mansions, the palaces, the hideaways, the mountains, the private islands and every other beautiful place for the beautiful people of our world.

But they are not at all of our world – theirs is a world known only to them, and the entrance is barred to all but the few.

Do not imagine that life is all beer and skittles (or champagne and polo) for these favoured few. Being rich is a chore because you have to hang on to the filthy lucre at the same time as spending it in such a way as to show that you have more than your neighbour does. These people define themselves in financial terms.

Philanthropy is just another way of letting other people know how rich you are, as are parties and houses. But, says Conniff, charity can be difficult for rich people. This is, he maintains, because "stinginess is often part of the mindset that made them rich in the first place".

Conniff's pseudo-scientific treatment of the topic adds humour to an interesting subject. He talks about dominant behaviour, pecking orders, power and the unwritten codes that keep the rest of society out. He often draws a long bow, as in his comparison of frogs' belching with the tirades and diatribes of media mogul Ted Turner and Intel's Andy Grove, who are both scone-doers at their staff. The acceptance of the theory is made easy by the fact that everybody knows somebody who, while in a position of authority or power, acts exactly like that. That is one of the delightful aspects of this book, people are recognisable. Even the less-than-obscenely-wealthy show many of the behaviours described.

Conniff has obviously researched his topic well. That must have been tough, staying at those houses, attending those parties, eating those banquets. Always tongue-in-cheek, this is an enjoyable read that makes you think there may actually be more than a modicum of truth in the whole premise.