Today, historian Dylan Gottlieb explains how yuppies conquered New York, and why that conquest still shapes everything from your rent to our national politics.
In Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, and Gourmands Who Conquered New York, Gottlieb traces how Wall Street went from employing 3% of Ivy League graduates in the 1970s to 35% by the end of the ‘80s. Landlords burned down buildings to clear space for them. The New York City Marathon (which I’ve long been a hater of—come for me!) was invented to market the city to them. And Democratic politicians, beginning with Gary Hart, quietly replaced their working-class base with them. Gottlieb helps explain how we got here—that is, when we’re not both losing our minds talking about the Knicks leading the NBA Finals.
Dylan Gottlieb is Assistant Professor of History at Bentley University. An edited transcript is below for paid subscribers. All subscribers can watch the video and listen on the Skipped History podcast.
