New Book Exposes ‘Homewreckers’ Who Demolished The American Dream

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

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Aaron Glantz is a senior investigative reporter at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and Pulitzer Prize finalist. His new book examines how members of President Trump's inner circle bet big after the housing bust and made billions of dollars keeping the American Dream out of reach for individual families.

Aired: November 5, 2019 | Transcript

Photo credit: Harper Collins

The cover of the book "Homewreckers" by author Aaron Glantz.

The story of the Great Recession is one about loss. Workers lost jobs. Bad loans led to foreclosures. And by the end, an estimated 8 million Americans lost their homes.

But there were also winners.

A new book exposes the bankers, investors and private equity moguls who made billions of dollars off the 2008 housing market collapse. While Americans were losing their homes to foreclosure, author Aaron Glantz said, these businessmen, who are now a part of President Trump's inner circle, bought up large numbers of homes and converted them into permanent rental properties, making it harder for families to reach the American Dream.

Glantz, a senior investigative reporter with Reveal and The Center For Investigative Reporting, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss his book: "Homewreckers: How A Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream."