Billionaire Backlash

A smart set of case studies in support of greater corporate responsibility.

* Kirkus Reviews *
Well-timed, tightly written… Admirably international in its approach. * Financial Times *
This book usefully shines a light into a little-studied area at the intersection between business and politics. * MoneyWeek (UK) *
At a time when democracies are in crisis and oligarchs are swaggering, Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee offer hope—and even better, hope that is backed by serious scholarship. In this captivating and insightful book, packed with rich insights ranging from the United States to the European Union to South Korea, two of our most respected political scientists powerfully show how corporate scandals can unite people to reclaim their democratic politics from the likes of Elon Musk. * Gary Bass, author of Judgment at Tokyo *
Few books are fun to read while suggesting credible ways of addressing urgent global problems: Billionaire Backlash does just that. It zeroes in on the Silicon Valley tycoons who have amassed unparallelled power over our lives. Through their opaque private companies, they now control essential public services. Through their newspapers and social media, they promote their interests and way-out opinions. Read it: this matters. * Paul Collier, author of The Future of Capitalism *
In an age of democratic crisis, Billionaire Backlash shows us how corporate scandals offer unexpected opportunities for societal renewal – revealing how we as citizens can still assume the power to make the rules in modern democracies. Just read it – have fun, get wiser and get out there! * Margrethe Vestager, former EU Commissioner *
Why is “good populism”—one that redirects public anger away from vulnerable minorities and toward the excessive greed and influence of big corporations—so difficult to achieve? Billionaire Backlash not only provides an answer but, crucially, explains how the obstacles to such good populism may be overcome. This book left me both better informed and more hopeful. * Steven Levitsky, author of How Democracies Die *
In an age of increasing corruption, Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee provide a valuable explanation of when corporate scandals provoke public fury, and when instead they fade away. * Henry Farrell, author of Underground Empire *

Pepper Culpepper is Blavatnik Professor of Government and Public Policy at the University of Oxford and a Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College. He currently serves as Vice-Dean of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. He lives in Oxford with his family.

Taeku Lee is Bae Family Professor of Government and Dunster House Faculty Dean at Harvard University. Lee is also Past President of the American Political Science Association and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.