Film recommendation: 'The one percent' and 'Born rich'

Approximately one percent of the society are born into a "super rich" family. Dozens of movies have been made about this part of the population, but there are two, which are outstanding, because the person who directed them, is "born rich" too.

'The one percent', released in 2006

'Born rich", released in 2003

The documentaries "The one percent" and "Born rich" deal with the growing wealth gap between America's wealthy elite compared to the overall citizenry and how it is to be born into one of those "one percent" families. They were created by Jamie Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, and produced by Jamie Johnson and Nick Kurzon. The film's title "The one percent" refers to the top one percent of Americans in terms of wealth, who controlled 42.2 percent of total financial wealth in 2004.

Jamie Johnson

The films Born Rich and The One Percent strained Johnson's relationships with other members of the New York elite, with whom he used his connections to secure interviews. Born Rich sparked a lawsuit and accusations from a few of the subjects, claiming that Johnson portrayed them unfairly. The films also cooled his relationships with his own family, including his father. Later, while developing The One Percent, Johnson discovered his father had helped fund a documentary about apartheid and economic unfairness South Africa. Though his father refused to talk about it, Johnson learned from his mother that his father was reprimanded for the film by the Johnson & Johnson company and by members of his family and never made another film.

r.s.