Peter Coleman has turned his signature tongue-in-cheek humour to the ridiculous, and sometimes horrifying, excesses of the mega-rich in his new book, Sins of the Filthy Rich.
The opulence, extravagance, grandeur and overconsumption of history’s wealthiest is put under a microscope, and the facts are even more staggering than you might have first thought!
Wealth inequality has escalated over the past two decades. As of April 2024, the highest 10 per cent of households ranked by wealth possess 44 per cent of all wealth in Australia, averaging $5.2 million dollars per household (Acoss·).
As many ordinary people struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, rich resentment is rising.
A spate of popular ‘eat the rich’ TV shows and movies with strong anti-class and anti-rich sentiments – such as The White Lotus, Knives Out, Parasite, Saltburn, Severance, Succession, and The Menu – depict the super rich as selfish, miserable, cruel, depraved and unjust.
In many real-life cases, as Peter uncovers in Sins of the Filthy Rich, this depiction is unfortunately widely accurate. Envy, gluttony, sloth, lust, pride, wrath and greed are not good, particularly when the ‘sinners’ have huge bank accounts and zero accountability.
From Emperor Commodus, King Leopold, Count Dracula and Genghis Khan to Rupert Murdoch, Kim Kardashian, Gina Rinehart, and Elon Musk, Sins of the Filthy Rich uses the seven deadly sins to explore how history’s mega wealthy have exploited, indulged and misbehaved appallingly.
Accompanied by shocking facts breaking down how wicked wealth is ruining the world, and just how many people that money could help if it was used for good, Sins of the Filthy Rich is a scathing look at the damage done by the insanely affluent.
“Researching this book was ‘eye-opening’ to say the least. Just when I thought I’d found the ultimate display of filthy rich villainy, someone even more appalling came along to prove me wrong,” said Peter.
“Not only are shows like Succession shockingly accurate – the reality is usually much worse than anything you see on TV. Poking fun at these terrible people has been a highlight of my writing career.”
For fans of David Mitchell’s Unruly, David Hunt’s Girt and the writing of The Betoota Advocate, Sins of the Filthy Rich will have you seething with injustice but also feeling better about not being one of the 1% – because those people are downright awful!
Dr Peter Coleman is the author of Australia’s Most Bizarre Crimes, and co author of Dark Arts and Crafts and Weekends With Matt. He has a PhD in cultural studies from Monash University. His primary reason for getting a PhD was to call himself ‘Dr’ on flights and get upgraded to Business class. To date, no upgrade has been forthcoming.
He works as a consultant in the not-for profit sector but can’t be bothered explaining what that involves. His interests include the French philosopher Simone Weil and Below Deck: Down Under. Peter has been married to his husband Mike for over 20 years. Their marriage is yet to lead to the downfall of society, but he still holds out hope.
Sins of the Filthy Rich is published by Affirm Press and is available from all good book sellers including QBD Books.
Image: Sins of the Filthy Rich – courtesy of Affirm Press