OpenTube

We Went To The Richest Town In America. It’s Not Where You Think.

More Perfect Union

2,062,179 views

Billionaires hide in plain sight in America’s richest county.

But the workers who keep the town running can no longer afford to live there. Half commute an hour through a canyon just to get to work.

Jackson Hole tells the story of wealth inequality playing out everywhere.

Producer & Editor: Josh Hirschfeld-Kroen
Reporter & Producer: John Russell
Videographers: Mike Wynn
Motion Designer: Ian McKenna
Supervising Producer: Meg Herschlein
Video Production Manager: Isabel Atalaya
Video Production Coordinator: Jodi Clemens
Video Production Fellow: Astrid Dong
Video Editing Fellow: Daria Nastasia
-----

More Perfect Union is an Emmy-winning, nonprofit newsroom whose mission is to build power for working people. Here’s what that means: We report on the real struggles and challenges of the working class from a working-class perspective. We attempt to connect those problems to potential solutions. We report on the abuses and wrongdoing of corporate power. And we seek to hold accountable the ultra-rich who have too much power over America’s political and economic systems.

To support our independent journalism, subscribe, donate, and follow our other pages through the links below:
Help fund our reporting: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mpu...
Substack: https://substack.perfectunion.us/
TikTok: TikTok: moreperfectunion
Twitter: Twitter: MorePerfectUS
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/moreperfectu...
Facebook: Facebook: MorePerfectUS
Instagram: Instagram: perfectunion
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@perfectunion
Website: https://www.perfectunion.us

20 Comments

@scottdbarrie 2 months ago

They don't live here....they use it as a tax shelter.

@TheShwiggityshwah 2 months ago

Billionaires larping as normal people, but making sure to not actually be around normal people.

@dusty4047 2 months ago

Workers should just not come back..and then see what happens...no hotels no food no nothing..

@cosa_oscura 2 months ago

“I got mine. I’m not worried.” Sums it up.

@itzanopinion 2 months ago

Gotta admit though....Nothing says ‘community’ like making sure the people who keep it running can’t afford to live in it! :)

@bernr3764 2 months ago

I wish all the workers could just relocate from there and then billionaires would realize they aren't shit without the average joe.

@carterwatsabaugh7393 2 months ago (edited)

I am a 6th generation Jackson local. Born and raised in the valley, I'm now a Victor resident and one of the Teton Pass commuters. This is one of the most accurate portrayals of the shift Jackson has had and issues we have been facing. Very well put together and this gets local approval!

@gened9632 1 month ago

"The servant is the master in disguise". If Americans every understood this, we'd live in a different country. Those billionaires can only exist as long as they're served by the very people they shit on.

@dcpolicygeek 2 months ago

No hyperscaled data center development going to happen near Jackson Hole, WY.

@OOOOOOOOOO-o8y 2 months ago (edited)

MLK Jr. - February 1968 - "This country has socialism (tax credits/corporate welfare/subsidies/bailouts) for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism (bootstraps) for the masses."

@SaharSalem-yo3nk 2 months ago

The wealthy Destroying people’s lives wherever they go

@wojciechpac3943 1 month ago

America is such a horrible place for regular people...

@michaelsauer3064 2 months ago

This story perfectly encapsulates our country in a nutshell. We need a reset.

@HoshiToshi2000 2 months ago

I feel like people don't realize we can deprive the wealthy of ourselves as a resource.

@robchr 2 months ago

This is not preservation. This is a country club.

@Frank51203 4 weeks ago

Tax these tax evaders for the benefit of the tax payers!

@kainumweed6196 2 months ago

Born raised in Montana I don’t think I’ve seen a “cowboy” with dirt on their shirt in quite some time.

@now_is_all 2 months ago

Turns out it never trickles down.

@13thCharacter 5 days ago

The billionaires aren't buying houses to live there. They're buying houses because they have accumulated so much wealth that they don't know what to do with all of their passive income. So they park it in whatever assets they can find, and they hoard it there.

If you directly tax their wealth, they will begin to unwind some of those assets. Tax wealth, not work.