Money and power – how much influence do the super rich have? (3/3) | DW Documentary
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Published 2019-03-24
Many studies show that a small but wealthy part of society defines a country’s political direction. It’s the same all over the world. German researchers evaluated hundreds of opinion polls on the topics of the economy, environment, foreign policy and finance. They then examined what poor people wanted from politics on these issues - and what the rich did. The differences were clear: "An obvious example is taxes on property,” says Armin Schäfer, a political scientist at the University of Munster. "Higher income groups are more skeptical about any reintroduction of a property tax, whereas lower income groups definitely want it. So far, we have not reintroduced a property tax in that form.” So who gets to decide what Germany looks like? To find out, our film follows building contractor Christoph Gröner, who has made millions from the construction business. Gröner wants to build an entire new district in Cologne, which is facing a severe housing shortfall and where rents are soaring and the poor in particular feel ignored. But he has faced delays in getting building permits. Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker says: "It is a city’s job to provide land and grant building permits.” But can’t it do that faster? Gröner says the politicians should take their foot off the brakes. To show how much power money really wields, we go to the places where politics and economics come together - to the district town halls and the VIP box at a Bundesliga stadium. And to Europe's largest real estate show in Cannes, where billionaire investors use their financial clout to shape cities and regions as they wish.
Part 1: • Inequality – how wealth becomes power...
Part 2: • Rich and poor – the inequality gap (2...
Part 3: • Money and power – how much influence ...
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All Comments (21)
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Wow, the politician said a mouthful when he stated that "Being a politician shouldn't guarantee preferential treatment." I cannot imagine any of our US politicians agreeing with him!
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After having watched all 3 of 3 segments of this documentary series, I am astonished at how deep the DW team digs, to get at the core of the problem, thereby permitting the viewer to make (or not) an educated judgement. In the States we have 60 minutes once a week. They too do a fairly good job, but it's never really a this depth. It's more like being exposed to the subject, like canapés at a cocktail party. But DW simply puts it all on the table, hands you the fork and the plate, and says "Dig In"! Bravo!
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astonished by the quality of this documentaries, you truly can be able to hold a broad overview and yet explain a complex issue, bravo guys
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I also think it was good of at least one of these millionaires to agree for their private life to be documented for six months, they could have just refused and we would be left with no documentary. So thanks Mr. Groener and DW for this enlightening documentary. I used to think Germany was like a perfect country, and now my outlook is very different.
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I think its nice of Mr Groener to agree to this knowing he might be portrayed as the bad guy. Thank you DW that was a great documentary series.
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This is a really important documentary, specially because as they mention at the beginning of each episode, Germany seems from the outside a place with no struggles that offers equals opportunities to its whole population. This shows us another perspective: that no matter the country, economical struggle and social classes are mostly the same everywhere.
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OK, I have watched all three episodes in one evening and clicked thumb-up using all my YouTube accounts. I wish more people could see it and understand what really caused the problems at the root. But given the recommendation algorithm of YouTube, I sadly doubt it... Idea for a new Doku: "The harm of customized information".
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What makes this the most difficult is the given person's economic situation. What I mean is, if you are wealthy, you want to keep the status quo. If you are not, you want it changed. Yes it's obvious, but if someone lower class moves up, they will now want to maintain their wealth. To sum it up, poor people don't want to be poor, but when they're rich, they want to stay rich.
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I worked briefly for a woman who use to gouge everyone down on the price and wages (including me). One day, recognizing her jacket, I remarked, “ ... lovely outfit ..” She gleefully, replied, “... you like it?! It’s Ralph Lauren!” I replied, “ yes, I know. I’ve seen it. It’s more than our monthly wage.”
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This was more intelliegent and balanced than anything you get in the American media.
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I'm glad you uploaded We love this series..money power ..wealth. inequality.. please upload more videos on this topic. Thanks once again.. keep it up You will have millions subscribe soon
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Things didn't change ever since the Roman empire, only the technology.
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Mr. Schmit is right. The land property should be owned by one who live. Not for people who want to extract the profit. I love his words.
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The dream is gone. He works at Siemens and lives in an apartment the size of some college schmuck.
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While I watch this, BlackRock has almost 7trillion in assets. A trillion more since this video was posted. How crazy is that ?
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Excellent work, DW! I have never watched a documentary so engrossing in its simplicity and honesty. You have a new subscriber!
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The view count drops from part 1 to part 3, but that's a shame because it gets better. What a well-done documentary. And kudos to Christoph Gröner for making himself accessible to potentially hostile cameras. We all rail against the wealth of "Fortune 500 CEOs", but how many of us are willing to give up our regular 24/7 life and devote it to our job?
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12:58 What he is actually saying - thank you all for sacrificing your lives and your families for the rich to get richer. And everybody is smiling and applauding. Just unbelievable. Looks like total madness. Very, very good film. Thank you DW.
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Please make affordable living space. It is true that inequality is eternal, but at least make the standard of the poorest people to be still have a job and a decent living space.
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I've been impatiently waiting for this part since you posted Ep. 1 a few months ago. Excellent documentary.
