When historians review the great bull market behind the credit crunch that began in 2007, one artefact that may give them pause is the rich list.
Since the late 1980s, such features in magazines and newspapers have tapped into a prurient fascination with wealth. But the tone they have taken in recent years marks a break with the far lengthier tradition of wealth being looked on with envy by the masses.
Once a badge of honour, says Ian Monk, head of the London-based public relations consultancy Ian Monk Associates, rich lists now seem “more like a hit list for the taxman, the levellers and wives contemplating divorce”. Rather than cause for celebration, it now seems “filthy to be rich”.