Taxes and Tariffs

Avery Trufelman· Host0:00

Rich people dress so boring now.

Ray Madoff· Guest0:03

When we see our wealthy, particularly the wealthy that, that have come about in the last 20 or 30 years, our tech wealthy, they are very much just like the rest of us. Or, you know, everybody in their T-shirts and hoodies.

Avery Trufelman· Host0:16

Boston Law professor Ray Madoff. We're talking live on stage at the Center for Brooklyn History.

Ray Madoff· Guest0:21

You see Elon Musk, he's just a regular guy. Don't go thinking he's somebody fancy or somebody rich. He's just like you and me.

Avery Trufelman· Host0:29

But once upon a time, it used to be extremely clear who was rich. In the turn of the last century, in the 1890s, 1910s, robber barons and industry tycoons announced their wealth proudly.

Ray Madoff· Guest0:43

They wore top hats and fancy things, tons of jewels.

Avery Trufelman· Host0:47

The daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt wore tiaras.

Ray Madoff· Guest0:50

She actually wore crowns. She wore a crown walking around New York City.

Avery Trufelman· Host0:56

I'm like, man, they don't make rich people like that anymore. That's so- No.

Ray Madoff· Guest0:59

And then they threw these unbelievable parties, but not off on a private island you can't come parties. They had glass doors, glass walls, so that the regular people can actually see these elaborate parties that were going on.

Avery Trufelman· Host1:14

And you were talking about, like, they would hand out cigars wrapped in $100 bills.

Ray Madoff· Guest1:18

Yeah, at their parties, yes. At the parties, they had, like, elephants. They would each, they would outdo each other. They'd be written on the society pages. And so they proudly announced