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The One Percent Research Paper

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The One Percent Research Paper
Running Head: THE ONE PERCENT Page 1

THE ONE PERCENT
Ryan M. Kerrick
March 18, 2012

THE ONE PERCENT Page 2
Ryan M. Kerrick
Mr. Richard Cannella
English Composition II
March 18, 2012 A good friend of mine recently recommended me to watch a documentary called “The One Percent.” I do not usually watch documentaries unless I am gaining some type of knowledge out of the information presented. Unsure of what it was about and what I was going to get out of it, I turned on NetFlix and proceeded to watch the film. I soon came to realize I was enamored by this film, “The One Percent,” and it remains one of my favorite documentaries of all time. The documentary deals with the disparity between the wealthy elite and the citizenry and how they are both so far removed from one another. “As of 2010, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 35.4% of all privately held wealth.” (Domhoff, 2010, The Wealth Distribution, para. 1). The producer and interviewer presents this film through many wealthy American businessmen, critics, economists and even his own family to explain this major social gap that exists on our home front. When looking at the differences side-by-side, it is hard to grasp that we all live in the same place, the United States of America.
The film was created by Jamie Johnson, the heir to one of America’s most affluent families. Being born with a “silver spoon,” Jamie never really had anything to worry about in life-- from private schools to private jets, equestrian clubs and charitable dinner parties. But, he always felt something was missing in his life and he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. The fortune that Jamie inherited on his 21st birthday was from one of the wealthiest family-owned companies in the United States, Johnson and Johnson.
THE ONE PERCENT Page 3
Ryan M. Kerrick
Mr. Richard Cannella
English Composition II
March 18, 2012

His great grandfather “started the company in 1886” (Johnson and Johnson,


References: Johnson and Johnson. (1997). History of Johnson and Johnson. Retrieved from http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/company-history/ Schroeder, A. (2008). The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life. Domhoff, G. (2010). Wealth, Income, and Power: The Wealth Distribution. Retrieved from http://whorulesamerica.net/power/wealth.html Frank, R. (2008). The Wall Street Journal: The Rich Man’s Michael Moore. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120371859381786725.html?mod=fpa_mostpop
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