New Books Network - Episode Summary

Podcast: New Books Network: Politics and Polemics

Title: Peter S. Goodman, "Davos Man: How the Billionaire Class Devoured Democracy"

Host: Caleb Zakrin

Guest: Peter S. Goodman

Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Caleb Zakrin interviews Peter S. Goodman, global economics correspondent for The New York Times, about his book "Davos Man: How the Billionaire Class Devoured Democracy." Goodman explores how a globally networked class of ultra-wealthy elites—dubbed "Davos Man"—has reshaped economies, enabled staggering inequality, and undermined democracy, all while promoting themselves as society’s benefactors. The conversation delves into key figures, revealing myths, ideology, and the mechanics of stakeholder capitalism, and closes with a call for systemic reforms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Goodman’s Global Economic Reporting Journey

[00:51-06:36]

• Goodman recounts 20 years covering international economics, including time in China, at The New York Times during the Great Recession, and observing the rise of right-wing populism across the globe.
• He draws an analogy between creeping economic inequality and climate change, both processes occurring so gradually that the impact is often only recognized in crisis.
• The pandemic acted as an accelerant, exposing fragilities in health, labor, and social systems caused by elite-driven inequality:

  “Suddenly, as if history is just accelerating, we are witnessing the consequences of concentrating more and more wealth in just a handful of people.” (Goodman, 05:33)

Defining "Davos Man"

[07:13-14:59]

• Goodman popularizes “Davos Man,” first coined by Samuel Huntington, to describe stateless, globally mobile billionaires whose allegiance is only to profit.
• Davos Man embodies the “cosmic lie”—trickle-down economics—the idea that enriching the wealthiest benefits society as a whole.
• Notable Davos Men in the book: Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone), Larry Fink (BlackRock), Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan), Jeff Bezos (Amazon).
• Goodman’s vignette of 2017 Davos captures elite denial:

  “I basically heard everything except for those of us who are here who have most of the money need to figure out how to share some of it with the other 8 billion plus inhabitants of planet Earth.” (Goodman, 13:06)

Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum

[15:19-25:35]

• Klaus Schwab, WEF founder, created a lucrative, exclusive club under the pretense of "improving the state of the world" but primarily serves elite networking.
• Schwab’s ideology appears progressive, but his actions reveal self-enrichment and a knack for laundering the legitimacy of controversial leaders (Trump, Modi, Xi).
• Goodman exposes behind-the-scenes hypocrisy:

  “What’s really going on is Schwab has gotten all these companies to use their participation in the forum to signal their virtues and to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in memberships for exclusive access to one another.” (Goodman, 21:38)

The Illusion of Stakeholder Capitalism

[25:35-37:13]

• Stakeholder capitalism, promoted by Schwab and CEOs like Benioff and Fink, purports to factor in interests beyond shareholders, such as labor and community.
• Goodman argues this is PR, designed to stave off real reforms:

  “It’s an elaborate public relations contrivance that’s designed to convince us that the billionaires have got this. We don’t have to menace them with nuisances like taxes and regulations and antitrust enforcement. We can just outsource our problems to them.” (Goodman, 32:25)

• Pandemics prove the emptiness of these claims, with CEOs laying off workers while securing massive dividends and shareholder returns.

Neoliberalism vs. Davos Man

[37:13-40:46]

• Goodman avoids the term “neoliberalism,” noting Davos Man only champions free markets when it’s self-serving.
• Davos Man seeks deregulation and tax cuts when lucrative, but expects government bailouts in crisis:

  “Davos man is for whatever in the moment leads to more tax cuts, more deregulation, and more potential public rescues in the moment of crisis.” (Goodman, 39:30)

Stephen Schwarzman, Trump, and Healthcare

[40:46-47:16]

• Schwarzman serves as the archetype for Davos Man’s relationship with populist politics, acting as Trump's apologist to global elites.
• Significant role in the “surprise billing” scandal through TeamHealth, a private equity venture targeting ER billing:

  “To make your money in the emergency room, that’s a particularly sweet part of healthcare... TeamHealth is at the center of what's become known as the surprise billing scandal. The surprise is not of the happy variety.” (Goodman, 44:54)

• Part of broader healthcare financialization, reducing resilience in crises like COVID-19.

Interpersonal Dynamics of Davos Men

[47:16-49:01]

• Benioff, among a few who spoke to Goodman, dislikes being grouped with Schwarzman and Fink but ultimately serves the same status-quo-upholding function.

The Myth of Elite Benevolence & Government Erosion

[49:01-51:41]

• Zakrin and Goodman note the myth that government is incapable, a narrative fostered even as elites lobby against it and benefit from its weakness.
• Feedback from Davos Man has been largely absent, WEF itself issued only a mild, formulaic rebuttal.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the core fallacy of the Davos worldview:

  “Their success is our success. That when we organize our economies around sending more wealth to the people who already have most of it, we somehow all win.”
  (Goodman, 08:57)

• On Schwab’s forum as a performance:

  “It became this kind of virtue signaling place... Photos of Schwab entertaining heads of state. Most nights there's a banquet... all paid for by the Forum.”
  (Goodman, 19:54)

• On the emptiness of stakeholder capitalism:

  “If a company wants to organize itself to do right, that’s great... but we can’t count on it... We can’t stand down as democratic societies and just put our faith in the goodness of the people who have most of the money.”
  (Goodman, 34:20)

• On the mythology of Davos:

  “We need to get out from under these false binary choices that Davos man has foisted on us... that we either can have the miracles of COVID vaccines and Google and Uber and Amazon and central air conditioning or... we end up like Venezuela.”
  (Goodman, 52:09)

Important Timestamps

• [00:51] Goodman’s international reporting journey and inspiration for the book
• [07:13] Defining Davos Man; origins of the term
• [15:19] Klaus Schwab’s ideology and business model of the WEF
• [25:35] Critique of stakeholder capitalism and reaction to COVID-19
• [37:13] Why Goodman avoids “neoliberalism” label for Davos Man
• [40:46] Stephen Schwarzman’s rise, Trump ties, and ER billing scandal
• [49:50] Feedback (or lack thereof) from the Davos elite
• [51:59] Closing reflections on the book’s message and Goodman’s next project

Final Takeaways

Peter S. Goodman’s diagnosis is stark: the rise of Davos Man—the globally connected, self-mythologizing billionaire—has been instrumental in eroding democracy, gutting public institutions, and entrenching inequality, all under the guise of acting as society’s saviors. Often operating in view, aided by sophisticated PR and weak regulatory oversight, this elite class subverts meaningful reforms through performative gestures like stakeholder capitalism. Goodman urges a reassertion of democratic control through progressive taxation, labor empowerment, and antitrust, emphasizing that real solutions require accepting neither the benevolence myth nor false choices offered by this powerful class.

Host’s closing remarks:
Caleb thanks Peter S. Goodman for the conversation and expresses interest in his forthcoming work on supply chain disruptions.