Combine a decade of technological breakthroughs, unprecedented entrepreneurial activity, and ever-more-lucrative executive compensation packages, and you have the largest pool of wealthy people in history. Not only are there more of the rich, but more of what you might call the "new" rich---former middle class folks who've struck gold and are now shaking up politics, the non-profit world, and the old guard. Robert Frank, who's been covering the uber-wealthy in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, has now put together an entertaining yet thoughtful book-length profile of this new upper crust called Richistan.

Richistan gets its title from the thought that today's wealthy have gotten so rich that they no longer live among us, but instead exist in their own outsized country, where homes are the size of hotels and your 100-foot boat may be referred to as a "dinghy." In their economy, doctors and lawyers are merely affluent, and having a few million in the bank means you're falling behind.

Frank does the obligatory "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" thing, detailing the yachts and the planes and the cars and the clubs, and all the other baubles that the rich have always indulged in, so if your sole goal is to see how the richest of the rich live, you won't be disappointed. And his take on the clash between the new rich and the old is fascinating---the new wealthy label old wealth as boring and stuffy while simultaneously trying to buy their way into the very society they claim to disdain. Thankfully, however, Richistan is about more than the soap opera lives of rich people.

Perhaps the most unique phenomenon of the past decade has been the massive wealth that certain individuals have achieved by starting and selling their companies, or by sitting on mounds of paper wealth in the forms of public stock. In more and more cases, these people are relatively young with years to go and plenty of gas in the tank. While they're enjoying their wealth, they're also eager to use it to create change. Where wealthy families have traditionally created foundations that fund non-profits in perpetuity, the new wealthy are blowing their cash now in order to create change they can see during their lifetimes.

Richistan's most interesting chapters look at this new attitude. In "Performance Philanthropy," Frank profiles Philip Berber, who made his money by selling his online brokerage to Charles Schwab for over $450 million. Berber is now using that money on multiple projects in Ethiopia, giving out money in smaller amounts to fund the building of wells, schools, health clinics and more. But there are always strings attached. If the non-profits request money but fail to deliver on their promises, they aren't funded again. Berber isn't interested in giving money to the Red Cross or other big aid organizations; he's more interested in seeing his money in action---and having control of that action.

Likewise, in "The New Political Kingmakers," Richistan profiles Colorado's "Gang of Four," who helped oust the state's leading Republicans in 2004 and who even have political aspirations of their own. While political contributions from the wealthy are nothing new, these "Richistanis" aren't supporting candidates who will tax them less, but are instead seeking to change the political landscape in ways that they feel will benefit the larger society. In their worldview, the money they have to spend is a drop in the bucket compared to what the government spends. So, working to create a government that supports their views is the most effective way to use their money in creating positive change. Whether you agree or disagree with their political views, it's hard to accuse them of ulterior motives.

Frank also looks at the downside of wealth. For the new rich the biggest drawback may be how wealth will affect their children---many of these people were brought up in the middle class and they're afraid that their children won't inherit the work ethic that led to their own successes. (Of course, it's not easy to teach it when their children have butlers and other household staff constantly at their disposal.) How will these kids handle the money they will eventually inherit? Or should the parents give it all away and force the kids to make it on their own?

Frank does not glorify wealth in Richistan; nor does he villify it. He simply reports, and that may be the book's greatest strength. Without offering an opinion of these new rich as either worthy of admiration or worthy of scorn, and without offering an opinion of the larger forces that have created such wealth, Frank leaves it to the reader to decide if the wealth boom is good, bad, or simply dependent on whether you've made it into the club.