The Gilded Age returns as HBO explores themes of extreme wealth

The HBO series ‘The Gilded Age’ is set to premiere its fourth season on November 1. The show depicts the intense social competition in 1880s New York between established old-money families and the newly wealthy ‘robber barons,’ such as railroad and mining magnates.

The series draws parallels to the modern era, where the tech industry has created a new class of extreme wealth. Recent reports, including those from Forbes, suggest a contemporary ‘gilded age’ driven by tech billionaires and trillionaires, such as Elon Musk, mirroring the historical shift in American economic power.