In this episode of Beyond the Page, recorded live at SVWC 2025, The New
Yorker staff writer and National Book Award-winning author Evan Osnos dives into the
bold-faced, always entertaining, and all too timely topic of how much is too much in our
society—or rather, how much is never enough? Such is the question for the billionaires
who now make up America’s ultrarich. Their giant yachts, luxury compounds—and, oh
yes, tax schemes—are a source of endless, if alarming, fascination. Osnos talks about
his bestselling book, The Haves and Have-Yachts, and the acquisitive appetites and
habits of our new “oligarchs” and how their outsized fortunes are allowing them to hold
sway over the elections and the economy.

-

Welcome to Beyond the Page: The Best of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. Over the past 30 years, SVWC has become the gold standard of American literary festivals, bringing together contemporary writing’s brightest stars for their view of the world through a literary lens. Every month, Beyond the Page curates and distills the best talks from SVWC, giving you a front row seat on the kind of knowledge, inspiration, laughter, and meaning that we are known for.

To listen to other talks from the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, subscribe now on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or listen directly on our website.