Anointed

Selected by Forbes as One of the 10 Best Business Books of 2025
Longlisted for the 2025 Non-Obvious Book Award
Selected as a “Must-Read” book by the Next Big Idea Club
Selected by Porchlight as one of the Best New Business Books of September 2025
Selected by Balanced Achievement as one of 50 Best Psychology Books of 2025
Selected by Behavioral Scientist as a Notable Book of 2025
“A riveting read on the power of social status. Toby Stuart is an eminent scholar, and this book shows how the respect we seek for ourselves and bestow on others carries far more weight than we realize.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential
“A fascinating exploration of status, and how small advantages end up compounding into vast inequalities. Anointed exposes the hidden hierarchies that govern everything from cultural fads to billion-dollar corporate mergers.”—Jonah Berger, bestselling author of Contagious and The Catalyst
“A fun read, loaded with stories but deeply informed by the underlying social science.”—Slightly Smarter
“An informative book exploring the many ways status affects daily life.”—Booklist
“In an era of digital platforms that amplify status-based rewards to unprecedented scale, a better understanding of these phenomena is essential.”—Science


“A lively, practical guide for how to think about and status, and a critique of how status structures reinforce inequality and sully our souls.”—Bloomberg
“This is not a how-to book. So don’t expect tips and tricks on how to play the status game. But it does something even more valuable, it illuminates how often invisible hierarchies shape every aspect of our lives.”—Forbes
“An informative and highly engaging exploration of an influential social status dynamic.”—Kirkus
“In an era of digital platforms that amplify status-based rewards to unprecedented scale, a better understanding of these phenomena is essential.”—Science

Toby E. Stuart is the Leo Helzel distinguished professor of business administration at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. He is faculty director of the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program and faculty director of the Institute for Business Innovation; and distinguished teaching fellow. He previously has held named professorships at Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. Stuart is the cofounder of a tech company and on multiple corporate boards. He has published dozens of academic papers on social status and social network dynamics. He was the long-time department editor for entrepreneurship and innovation at Management Science, and has been an editor at many prominent journals, including American Journal of Sociology and Administrative Science Quarterly.

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