Why does an authentic Rembrandt fetch hundreds of millions while a nearly identical painting by his most talented disciple goes for a tiny fraction of that price? What makes a restaurant “hot,” a neighborhood “up-and-coming,” or a technology “the next big thing”? Why do people often choose the same seats in recurrent office meetings? Who is most likely to interrupt someone else mid-sentence? Why do big name lawyers earn so much? Why are health disparities so pronounced? And why, when someone gets a bit ahead in life, does the small advantage so often compound?

The answer to all these questions is social status—invisible hierarchies that influence every aspect of our lives, from our health to our personal relationships and careers to how we behave in social and work settings to the tastes and preferences we form. Without it, we’d be lost and paralyzed when faced with even the simplest decisions. But it comes at a steep cost: status works as a powerful amplifier, turning small initial advantages into insurmountable leads. Inequality is baked into its core.

Through compelling examples from business, economics, literature, art, fashion, and beyond, Toby Stuart's Anointed demonstrates how status cascades through society, creating winners and losers in ways that often have little to do with merit. And how new technology offers a glimpse of a more equitable future.

Stuart recently took time to respond to some questions about his new book, other books related to its topic that he would recommend, and the power of books more generally. On that last point, he provided one of our favorite answers ever to the question, What is your favorite book? So, without further ado, here are seven questions from Porchlight with Toby Stuart, author of Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World.

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Porchlight Book Company: Writing a book is no small undertaking. What compelled you to write this one?

Toby Stuart: The idea of writing a book rattled in the back of my mind for years. The push factors were the pandemic, which cratered my travel schedule and opened up a block of time, and the murder of George Floyd. The book is a broad and balanced consideration of social status in modern societies, from cultural industries such as art, wine and fashion to science, technology, and entrepreneurship. But it also dives into status differences associate with race, gender and other sociodemographic characteristics—why they arise and how they can lead to unfair outcomes. One day walking on a quiet beach during Covid, the title Anointed popped into my head and on the spot, I decided to write the book. Of course, like most well-laid plans, this one didn’t come to fruition. I wrote most of the book after the pandemic lockdown ended, and my editor and publisher were extremely patient with missed deadlines.

PBC: Writing (and reading) always prompts as many new questions as it offers answers to the ones you came to it with. What is one unanswered question you encountered as you wrote the book that you are most interested in answering now?

TS: How will the origin and effects of social status change in the AI-everywhere, all-things-digital world that is fast approaching?

PBC: If there is only one thing a reader takes away from reading this book, what would you hope it to be?

TS: Social hierarchies are ubiquitous, and so are their effects.

PBC: One of the great things about books is that they tend to lead readers to other books. What book[s] related to this topic would you recommend people read after (or perhaps even before) reading your book?

TS: Duncan Watts’s book Six Degrees; Robert Frank, Choosing the Right Pond. For the academically minded, Robert Merton, The Sociology of Science; Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. For the philosophically minded, John Rawls, A Theory of Justice.

PBC: What is your favorite book? 

TS: This is an impossible question. I read with wonderment. I am regularly blown away by amazing writing and storytelling. Now that I’ve written a book, I appreciate the greatness of others’ work even more. Since I read it at age 19, I have been telling myself that Crime and Punishment is the most impactful book I have read. I’ll stick with that, but the truth is, I have too many favorite books to list. Literature is my portal into self-reflection and insofar as I have any, the source of my wisdom.

PBC: What are you reading now?

I am on a flight right now, and the only book with me is Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle. I am on page 18 and I am hooked.

PBC: Do you have any future projects in the works that we can look forward to?

TS: Yes! I am working on a new book that is about AI and social status.

About the Author

Toby E. Stuart is the Leo Helzel distinguished professor of business administration at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. He is faculty director of the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program and faculty director of the Institute for Business Innovation; and distinguished teaching fellow. He previously has held named professorships at Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. Stuart is the cofounder of a tech company and on multiple corporate boards. He has published dozens of academic papers on social status and social network dynamics. He was the long-time department editor for entrepreneurship and innovation at Management Science, and has been an editor at many prominent journals, including American Journal of Sociology and Administrative Science Quarterly.