My Facebook and Twitterfeed was full of bile at the young and super-rich people featured in this New York Times article. They are rich and COOL, gushes the Times. One woman wears her sweatpants to Barneys. Rebel Alert!
Other residents of 471 Washington include two young brothers who each own large apartments and a stylish 30-something couple, Harsh and Purvi Padia. The Padias — he runs a hedge fund and she has an interior-design business — paid more than $17 million for the penthouse. The couple, who have a child, were featured in an episode of “Million Dollar Listing,” a reality show on Bravo, expressing concern that the 4,200-square-foot unit, which comes with 4,000 square feet of outdoor space and a rooftop pool, was too small for the family of three. They ended up combining the apartment with the unit below, creating a 7,200-square-foot home.
So, who are these rich people? Derek Thompson has some nice data on the .01%. You think that the 1% is doing well? Well, not so much compared ot the .01%. Their wealth is tied to the stock market, which is doing quite well, even if the rest of the economy is sluggish.
As income inequality increases, we’ll get more of the sweatpants in Barney stores. But we’ll also get more Food Stamp stories.

