What's the Matter with Delaware? with Hal Weitzman
- May 19, 2022
Join us at Gleacher Center (Room 621) for a discussion with Hal Weitzman about his new book, What's the Matter With Delaware?: How the First State Has Favored the Rich, Powerful, and Criminal—And How It Costs Us All.
The discussion will be moderated by John Paul Rollert, Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at Chicago Booth.
5:30pm - doors open, light refreshments and book sale
6:00pm - discussion and Q&A
7:00pm - book signing
Location: Gleacher Center - Room 621 (6th floor)
This event will be filmed as part of Chicago Booth Review's "Book Report" series.
This event is co-sponsored by the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State and Chicago Booth Student Life.
Synopsis
The legal home to over a million companies, Delaware has more registered businesses than residents. Why do virtually all of the biggest corporations in the United States register there? Why do so many small companies choose to set up in Delaware rather than their home states? Why do wealthy individuals form multiple layers of private companies in the state? This book reveals how a systematic enterprise lies behind the business-friendly corporate veneer, one that has kept the state afloat financially by diverting public funds away from some of the poorest people in the United States and supporting dictators and criminals across the world.
What’s the Matter with Delaware? shows how, in Joe Biden’s home state, the corporate laws get written behind closed doors, enabling the rich and powerful to do business in the shadows.
About the author
Hal Weitzman is executive director for intellectual capital and Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and editor-in-chief of Chicago Booth Review. A former Financial Times editor and foreign correspondent, he is also the author of Latin Lessons. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter @HalWeitzman
About the moderator
John Paul Rollert is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His teaching and research focus on the intellectual history of capitalism, the ethics of leadership, and the application of empathy to law, business, and politics. He is also interested in the political economy and moral philosophy of Adam Smith. Follow him on Twitter @JPRollert