This 80-minute documentary focuses on the growing “wealth gap” in America, as seen through the eyes of filmmaker Jamie Johnson, a 27-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. Johnson, who cut his film teeth at NYU and made the Emmy®-nominated 2003 HBO documentary Born Rich, here sets his sights on exploring the political, moral and emotional rationale that enables a tiny percentage of Americans – the one percent – to control nearly half the wealth of the entire United States. The film Includes interviews with Nicole Buffett, Bill Gates Sr., Adnan Khashoggi, Milton Friedman, Robert Reich, Ralph Nader and other luminaries.
http://www.theonepercentdocumentary.com/
smart movie, but so depressing I just could’t finish it
What makes this film so compelling, is how much misinformation is given . Family fortunes run into the trilions. They typically will have shares in hundreds of global markets. There decisions have world wide consequences, without anyone to challenge there authority. They know that the US is
Just a pupoet state . Politicians are bought and sold to the highest bidder . While remaining 99%
Are born in slavery. The cartel is just been rebranded , more illusive and dangerous than ever .
The results speak for themselves. With the introduction of homeland security, all the god given
Rights are just a museum addition , with no more innfluence then anything found and labeled as antiquety . Slowly becoming a police state , controlled regulated enforced and financed with
Some of the most corrupt and deviant companies known worldwide infact they make the Italian
Mafia look like a bunch of boy scouts. Ever notice how many countries have been terrorized by
US intrest ? Yet they themselves have never been invaded? Whose the first to patronize other
Countries and regimes for doing the same thing . War mongering who wipe ther a** with the
American flag.
The Nobel Laureate, Freidman, is an a$$wipe! What he states is total b.s.! Rich people do not influence politics? The congress makes decisions based on public opinion? Since when? So when the public demand food labeling and the congress votes against it, because Monsanto runs the FDA, is this how congress is “influenced by public opinion”? Let’s not talk about big Pharma and the Banking Mafia…
Jamie could have done a much better job is he would challenge those m0r0ns who talk to him as if he’s a little 10 year old with a camera. But before you walk around with a camera, trying to create a ‘documentary’, you need to study the subject and know what you are talking about, have tough questions, be able to challenge “expert” opinions.
But as long as the rich boy makes a ‘documentary’ to have something to keep him busy, we should all be ok, right?
Lets so some good
i thought it fascinating that as an adult he (Jamie) has the more rarer post ladial lisp. It is said that it is caused by exessive thumb sucking or pro longed use of pacifiers….. that pretty much says it all about his movie. Out of touch spoiled children who never have to grow up and be responsible for anything. The true leeches of our society. I’d rather have a monarchy who lives it out in the open than a psuedo-monarchy that hides in embarrassment at living a life that they know damn well was never the intention of our founding founders. They fled Europe to get away from this socially caustic, morally depraved model of social/financial elistism. These are smart men, and they are and should be ashamed. There is something very sickening when a country encourages laws that protects billions of dollars most of which its owner won’t ever see or need to touch in their lifetime while their neighbors and their neighbors children are literally starving and without shelter. Greed. Greed and more Greed. Very troubling indeed. If there were lands undiscovered, there would a definite push and strong desire to find a new home and try this “America – Experiment – God – Bad” again. This time the strong motivation being that of a basic need to be free of the ugly, dark effects of a society controlled by money, greed and a never ending addiction to power.
I’ve lived my entire life below the poverty level, so I have standing to take the side of the rich. Not because I think they are nice guys or that they have my best interests at heart, but because they aren’t making their millions off me. I don’t buy name-brand products, I don’t watch television, I don’t even buy my clothes new. If I did, I would be a lot poorer, and the billionaires would all be a little richer. What too much of my money goes to is supporting the underclass, who spend, on average, more than I make–at least whatever is left over from making billionaire drug lords even richer–on the sort of products I feel I can’t afford.
The philosopher Jai Krishnamurti said that unless the people in a society take its problems PERSONALLY, the society will lose its ability to solve those problems. Mr. Johnson’s film shows powerful people withdrawing from personal consideration of the disadvantagement and sufferings of the poor, or making empty talk about change, or justifying the system that creates and maintains such oppression and needless suffering. I can’t see any reason to think the rich of the West have any motivation or interest in the lot of the exploited, disadvantaged and needless suffering of their countries’ poor other than as parlour talk, public relations, ways to build monuments to themselves, or political hype. I have talked to rich Asians who say their peers intentionally keep their country’s poor suppressed in situations that are consciously managed to ensure the poor and powerless remain poor and powerless, and I can’t imagine the rich of the West can’t see, or can’t figure out how their riches, power and income must translate to gross disadvantagement, exploitation and needless suffering for very large numbers of people.
Jamie Johnson is such a dreamboat
First of all thank you for making this doc Mr.Johnson. To reply to some of the people who have commented earlier i urge you to be critical of everything you read and watch. It takes a genius not to realize that the sociopolitical situation in america is unfair. Big money talks & walks. And Mr.Friedman is wrong=adjusted for inflation wages have stagnated for the working class since the 70’s when financialization of the economy began. Moreover the term socialism has been labeled as the most evil thing imaginable. Please take a closer look at the scandinavian countries. And lastly to those of you who say that this doc is insignificant and a waste of time, please note that in order to change the current situation one must work gradually step by step, and making docs like this one is a part that change.
The idea, the core of this documentary is a very sensitive matter with a lot of variables to take into account. It is a subject of great debate over the years and it will continue to be until different perspectives are put through.
To be honest when I first saw the people who are going to be in this movie I was quite enthusiastic. How many times to you get to see Milton Friedman and other policy makers in a documentary, engaging in a dialogue which is not favorable to them? But after a while i had this feeling that the whole concept of this movie is about rebellious, or i might say childish thinking about fairness and equality. Your father made a similar movie and he is now one of the richest man in the USA…How do you see yourself in 10 years? Very different from your father?
P.S. When you go challenge a man like Friedman you can not expect to win by saying ” if you see the signs in America…the signs that apply to ancient civilizations…”
in reply to georgia F.A.T.Z… yes your completely right friend let the little african Niggers die. we the 99% dont care about little kids dying or parents having to work 3 jobs ,or getting your paid house seized because they tricked you into a loan, or giving out a bit of that sweet god like stuff called war to almost all latino countries and the rest of the world
Go Capitalism GOOD JOB MORON
(Sarcasm)
I personally believe that if you collected the worlds wealth and redistributed it down to the penny, inflation would sky-rocket, and those with knowledge of how to organize labor and properly utilize raw materials would be at least the top 10% again. Combine that with a willingness to continually study best practices, better methods and a lack of fear of failing and…. voila, you have a new(some of the same) 1% at the top with the lions share of money.
People need “stuff” to live, and if you don’t know how to produce “stuff”, then you are going to have to purchase it from those who do; or from those who can convince others to do so.
Communism sounds good on paper, but in the real world people need incentive(profits) to build the infrastructure and maintain businesses that provide our sustenance and frivolities.
We hate to admit it, but we need the rich, or at least the people willing to do what it takes to become so(inventors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, top tier(highly trained) professionals.etc) to produce and provide us with jobs and the “stuff” we want and need to survive.
I want to develop within myself the drive and determination shown by the original patriarchs/matriarchs of these so called “ruling families” so that my 3-4-5th generation does not have to struggle after I’m gone.
.
Insert your networth here : _______ $
How’s that going? Are you ruling class yet?
the rich get richer the poor get poorer as the old saying goes, selfish people really pee me off and I hate to say it but Americans are by far the worse for it greed thats all it is they dont even need a fraction of the money they have to live a cushty life. the system we live by is faulty something must change. how the fuck can the poor get any where in this day and age with greedy **** such as these in this video.
on the other hand, big + for the doc maker and for not being a steriotypical ‘snob’ and actually seeing the true light much respect.
WOW, I have so much respect for this documentary filmmaker. He made this film even in light of all the familial and societal pressures as well as his own economic interest.
I really don’t understand the people who say this documentary is redundant or pointless. If you didn’t see anything back there, you my friend, are blind. Of course we didn’t see facts, we didn’t see potential solutions. But we were offered with a window to the life of the wealthy, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are very simply put, people trying to get by. Just like the 99%, in a different way. I was glad to see that there are some third generation wealthy kids who choose to live their life in humility and modesty, but these are isolated events that while serve as an example for the people of their kind, they can’t really reflect a positive impact on those who suffer because of the rich. I thought it was really interesting the level of intimidation to which the rich community will go with the ones of their members that go like, “Hey, anyone else think this is wrong?”
If anything, this documentary gives me hope. Most of the 1% are an ignorant lot, and they live in fear, driven by greed. And then there’s us, the middle class, who have just awoken and began to question the morality of the way these people live. One of the interviewed people said that this is just the way life is and there’s no other way around it, and I also thought the concept of social Darwinism was very interesting. But I differ with both. It’s easy for them to assume that all is set on stone, but really, they’re just a scared bunch that work day and night to get more and more wealth at our expense. Meanwhile, we are a if somewhat educated group that can take matter into their own hands. They may have the money, but we have the will and the numbers. So shout-out to Jamie Johnson, great job.
I don’t understand how making a movie on how the rich are rich and the poor are poor helps anything. The only people who will watch this are those in the middle class trying to be in the 1 percent. stop wasting everyone’s time and use your money to reach more people and solve real problems that we cant solve if the money was broken up over everyone. If you think the rich should be penalized for making money then make a movie where you start a trend paying off the debt and how that catches on or how your wealth IS actually working its way down to the poor and if its not like you say its not then walk your ass down town and give your money to someone.
huh?
well good on the rich kid for having a personal opinion similar to the rest of us.. but at the end of the day what’s changed? is any good likely to actually come from this?
yeah i could say what i feel as every one else does, but what’s it actually going to achieve? really not a damn thing..
so best of luck to all.
The 99% is just as dead as always.
The Americans are especially the most lethargic, self-centered, and lazy sleepwalkers that have ever roamed the face of this pathetic planet.
Please die already.
Signed.
The Human Racist!
Everyone with power in the world = 1%
I did not understand the meaning of this documentary, it’s not informative, it’s not the average rich that are the problem anyway, it’s the system it self and it’s hound dogs, armed revolution is the only answer for proper change anyway, nothing else.
It is obvious the networks owned by these 1% ‘s sanctioned this production, spinning a benign light and appeal for understanding for this misunderstood family. Perhaps, the Georgia Guidestones questions their beneficent leanings. Whose side of this destruction of 94 % of the population of the world do you think they are on? Good dog Nigel, waggy tail and beg, were putting to to asleep at 3:00 o’clock, John Lennon.
Neox: His name’s Pirate and he lives in Santa Barbara. He’s a nice guy. It can be incredibly difficult to make solid improvements in your life if you are homeles/unemployed, so congratulations on your succes! (I’m assuming you no longer look like him because you’ve managed to get out of that situation.)
It sure looks like the most of the rich people have narcissistic and/or psychopathic issues and don’t give a s*it about the poor.
I really hope that the rich realize that wealth should be distributed more evenly before the 99% reach the limit and pull the trigger, there is not walls high enough to stop the people if they are pushed too far to poverty.
it sure would be nice and life would be easy if you had wealth as this guy but i think the Iranian arms dealer said it best – there is no equality in life .. that’s just how it goes ..
i think this film was good but the Hurricane Katrina clip could have been edited out .. there were many facets to that situation and the filmmaker included clips which, in their brevity, did not cover all sides of the story ..
good piece, … but, that Katrina business was almost stupid .. i cant even believe he put that in there …. that situation was (and the effects of the situation) not only limited to what was in the film …ugh..
“I just can’t can’t believe”…..the ignorance of the uber-wealthy as portrayed in this documentary. Wait. First, a BIG kudos to Jamie Johnson for being who he is. And, in making this doc, also for being a sentient being with morals that his peers, and his own family, apparently, DO NOT have. HE IS BRAVE! Walter Lippmann once called the 99% “the bewildered herd”, but after seeing this, it is obvious to ALL that the REAL BEWILDERED HERD, is the 1%. Just listen to Steve Forbes….IDIOT….talk about his power yacht. What a pathetic human being he is. And then there is the, “Nobel Idioeat”, Milton Friedman, what an ARSEHOLE. He ditched on the interview when he didn’t agree with the questions. PURE scum. I am now feeling a sense of hope….not the puppet Obama hope, but real hope. Maybe we WILL overcome someday, and do the work that MLK, Ghandi, etc…and the likes, have left us with. With people like Jamie Johnson at the top, and people that are with the OWS, 99%, and other movements, we might have a chance to see a New World Order based on peace love and understanding.
Milt is a real jerk. Agree.
That hobo at 41:10 looks just like me a year ago.
better than life styles of the rich and famous!….the super wealthy very much an inner circle club thats for sure…..but those famous words …”the times they are a changing” are beginning to become a reality….powers are shifting, and not even so subtly anymore, we are all beginning to wake up….huge shift are happening…very interesting times to be living in…..hold tight everyone, we are in for a rough trip…best of luck and stay centred within…you cannot take that wealth with you….xxx
eye openning