Inequality – how wealth becomes power (1/3) | DW Documentary
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Published 2018-08-18
For the middle classes, work is no longer a means of advancement. Instead, they are struggling to maintain their position and status. Young people today have less disposable income than previous generations. This documentary explores the question of inequality in Germany, providing both background analysis and statistics. The filmmakers interview leading researchers and experts on the topic. And they accompany Christoph Gröner, one of Germany’s biggest real estate developers, as he goes about his work. "If you have great wealth, you can’t fritter it away through consumption. If you throw money out the window, it comes back in through the front door,” Gröner says. The real estate developer builds multi-family residential units in cities across Germany, sells condominium apartments, and is involved in planning projects that span entire districts. "Entrepreneurs are more powerful than politicians, because we’re more independent,” Gröner concludes. Leading researchers and experts on the topic of inequality also weigh in, including Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, economist Thomas Piketty, and Brooke Harrington, who carried out extensive field research among investors from the ranks of the international financial elite. Branko Milanović, a former lead economist at the World Bank, says that globalization is playing a role in rising inequality. The losers of globalization are the lower-middle class of affluent countries like Germany. "These people are earning the same today as 20 years ago," Milanović notes. "Just like a century ago, humankind is standing at a crossroads. Will affluent countries allow rising equality to tear apart the fabric of society? Or will they resist this trend?”
Part 1: • Inequality – how wealth becomes power...
Part 2: • Rich and poor – the inequality gap (2...
Part 3: • Money and power – how much influence ...
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All Comments (20)
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“Throw 250 out the window and it comes back right through the door” *i wish I had that problem
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Can't thank Germany enough for the content they are providing to the world free of cost every day. Thanks a ton guys
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him screaming at the crowd "how stupid are you?" does really not make him appear as the nice guy he is wanting to get across as...
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Money doesn't "trickle down", it clumps. Money attracts money.
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That security guard is like the sweetest man I’ve ever seen. Truly a stand up guy.
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“It is evident that most people don’t know how money works, if they did there would be a revolution before tomorrow’s sunrise “. -HENRY FORD
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"If I pay a guard so little that he can't live off his salary, then I've done something wrong as an employer." I wish we had more bosses like him in the US
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Thank you so much for using voiceovers when there is a different language being spoken. I love to watch these all day with my phone away so I’m grateful I can understand all the content while being away from the screen. It is also great to have this accessibility for people who need it. Thanks again!
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DW you must get a Nobel Prize for such a stupendous work, all your documentaries are absolutely a work of humanity
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These documentaries are extremely thought provoking, insightful and perceptive. Many thanks.
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A lot of people don't take into account a lot of luck to be this gentleman to be born to the right mother to be friends with the right guy in the construction company in order for you to invest in it and the list goes on ... Just like the documentary pointed out the security guard speaks multiple languages and has a couple of college degrees...
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Owning forests? That's crazy. Just can't get my head around this. What a world we live in! 😬
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Mental Note: don’t watch this before you go to your low paying/abusive job. It will mess up your day.
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"My company doesn't pay me to sit behind a steering wheel" *Spends time running up stairs for shits and giggles
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As always DW provides the best thought provoking documentaries and I'm very grateful for this kind of content. It always makes me think about my life and the life of others, diving into questions about the value of life, the value of gold and diamonds, what it means to be rich and what it means to be poor, perspectives, are we truly all created equal, on some level a human being can overcome these differences if he searches deep enough but not everyone in today's modern age has that kind of strength because life's pressures have broken their spirits. I wish i was rich, had money but my kind of rich might not be the same as your kind of rich...And what about shared values or quality of life
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According to this guy if a guard can live on the wages he pays him he has done his job. That's the attitude of all companies. Just pay the bare minimum so that the empployees don't starve. Also - his private assisstant has only been there for a few months, his guard also, what's up with that? Big rotation amongst the workers, work burnout or something else?
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Very good high quality journalism you are doing in most of the documentaries! There are fewer and fewer documentaries that try to be objective which is frustrating. Really like your way of presenting and I am looking forward to see more videos from you guys!
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Less than 30 seconds in, and this dude spits the facts about excessive wealth: it's impossible to spend it.
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I love Germany for their intelligence and honesty, this film was great at highlighting the housing problems. Thank you DW.
