11 Business Books Bill Gates Wants You to Read

3. “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty

Gates heard about this book from friends who strongly recommended it to him. After reading it he started to recommend it, as well.”The book has a 4.0 rating o n Amazon from 1,676 customer reviews with 59% of readers giving it 5 stars.

What is the book about? In “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” author Thomas Piketty analyzes data from 20 different countries to isolate economic and social patterns. His findings provide valuable lessons on wealth and inequality. He opens a debate on the concentration of income in the hands of the elite and how this can affect our market system over time.

Gates concurs with Piketty in three important aspects, “I very much agree with Piketty that: (1) High levels of inequality are a problem—messing up economic incentives, tilting democracies in favor of powerful interests, and undercutting the ideal that all people are created equal. (2) Capitalism does not self-correct toward greater equality—that is, excess wealth concentration can have a snowball effect if left unchecked. (3) Governments can play a constructive role in offsetting the snowballing tendencies if and when they choose to do so.”