For those of you who missed our webinar, The Wealth Elite: what makes the super rich tick? featuring an interview between ASI President Madsen Pirie and author and historian Rainer Zitelmann, we have reproduced the interview for our blog.

Dr Rainer Zitelmann holds doctorates in history and sociology. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked at the Central Institute for Social Science Research at the Free University of Berlin. He was then appointed section head at the major daily newspaper, Die Welt. His recent book, The Wealth Elite, delves into the subject of this webinar.

Dr Madsen Pirie is the co-founder and President of the Adam Smith Institute, a UK neoliberal think tank which has been in operation since 1977.

1. You’ve written several books about rich and successful people. What is it about them that interests you?

Zitelmann: Lots of people dream of being rich – just think of the millions who play the lottery week in, week out. Then there are all the books about getting rich – some are good, most are bad. But there are hardly and scientific studies about becoming wealthy. So that’s why I wrote my study, The Wealth Elite….