Wow! eBook
Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World
Author(s): Toby Stuart (Author)
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publication Date: September 2, 2025
- Language: English
- Print length: 288 pages
- ISBN-10: 166800187X
- ISBN-13: 9781668001875
Book Description
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,
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.Editorial Reviews
Review
Longlisted for the 2025 Non-Obvious Book Award
Selected as a “Must-Read” book by the Next Big Idea Club
Selected by Porchlight as one of the Best New Business Books of September 2025
Selected by Balanced Achievement as one of 50 Best Psychology Books of 2025
Selected by Behavioral Scientist as a Notable Book of 2025
“A riveting read on the power of social status. Toby Stuart is an eminent scholar, and this book shows how the respect we seek for ourselves and bestow on others carries far more weight than we realize.”
—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential“A fascinating exploration of status, and how small advantages end up compounding into vast inequalities.
Anointed exposes the hidden hierarchies that govern everything from cultural fads to billion-dollar corporate mergers.”—Jonah Berger, bestselling author of Contagious and The Catalyst“A fun read, loaded with stories but deeply informed by the underlying social science.”
—Slightly Smarter“An informative book exploring the many ways status affects daily life.”
—Booklist“In an era of digital platforms that amplify status-based rewards to unprecedented scale, a better understanding of these phenomena is essential.”
—Science“A lively, practical guide for how to think about and status, and a critique of how status structures reinforce inequality and sully our souls.”
—Bloomberg“This is not a how-to book. So don’t expect tips and tricks on how to play the status game. But it does something even more valuable, it illuminates how often invisible hierarchies shape every aspect of our lives.”
—Forbes“An informative and highly engaging exploration of an influential social status dynamic.”
—Kirkus“In an era of digital platforms that amplify status-based rewards to unprecedented scale, a better understanding of these phenomena is essential.”
—Science
