The solution to wealth inequality is the same as the solution to human sacrifice, bloodletting, foot binding, and witch trials. Culture evolves, knowledge grows, and bad ideas get left behind. Some day, endlessly hoarding wealth will join this list. The question is how long that will take, and what we can do to speed things up.

Written from the perspective of a wealthy person who has committed to voluntarily capping his wealth, A Solution to Wealth Inequality challenges conventional wisdom and offers a novel solution to the problem of inequality: persuasion. Instead of treating the wealthy as a foe to be vanquished, the book seeks to understand where our cultural ideas about wealth come from and how we can replace them with better ones. In the process, it makes a series of clear arguments directly to the wealthy that there’s a better way to live. It doesn’t ask the wealthy to act against their nature or their interests. Instead, it helps them gain a deeper understanding of both and see that they already point toward generosity.

Is this book just for the ultra wealthy? Not at all, but this question speaks to one of the great challenges of addressing inequality. It’s true that solving this problem requires the wealthy to act, but they make up less than 0.1% of the population and very few of them are in the market for a book about why they should give away a large percentage of their money. A book directed solely at them will never be read. To reach the wealthy, we must first reach the people who care most about addressing inequality—everyone else, in other words. The goal of this book is to spread ideas that get people talking and become impossible to ignore, even for someone with a billion dollars. That's why this book isn't just for the ultra wealthy. It's for anyone ready to change the conversation.