Yeet the Rich
If a billionaire donates money to a good cause, does that make them a good person? Hosts Emily Walsh and Daniel Moss are two married millennials who learned about financial crises by living through them, and now they’re diving into the wild world of the uber rich. They discuss financial crimes, the breakdown of the American dream, and why funding a museum doesn’t necessarily make you a good person. They get into the old timey rich, like the Rockafeller family, and current events, like why you might not want to shop at Walmart. Each week they’ll dive into a new wealthy person, give you the rundown on their lives, whatever “good things” they’ve done in the past, and why they might be a bummer.
Yeet the Rich
College Admissions Scandal Part One- Only One Trustworthy Rick
This week we are talking about the 2012-2018 College Admissions scandal. This is definitely a story of the rich and powerful families having all the advantages when it comes to college education. And a Man named Rick Singer who came along for the right price was willing to bend the rules and break the law in order to give his clients just one more edge.
In a world where a regular college degree means less and less and acceptance rates at the elite schools are plummeting, parents are desperately looking for some sure fire way to guarantee a perfect future for their kids.
For years wealthy and powerful parents have been able to pay for the best prep schools and private SAT tutors to help their children get the best possible chances to get into the most prestigious schools.
And when that didn't seem like enough their next step was to turn to a man named Rick Singer. Singer was a Private College Counselor who catered to California's Rich and Powerful parents. Singer offered a one of a kind concierge service to his “clients”. A one stop shop for everything college admissions.
He would set everything up. He calls the Admissions offices, sets up the tours including meetings with key professors. For some he even made car, plane, and hotel reservations.
All of this seems pretty above board and great. And this is similar to what most private college counselors do. But Rick took it much much further into some ethically dubious and then Illegal waters.
At first he was merely embellishing his clients' applications. Changing the kids from players on their basketball team to the Captain of the team.
But pretty soon he was writing essays for the kids and setting really convoluted ways to cheat on the SAT.
And eventually he discovered a side door into elite colleges through athletics departments with some corrupted coaches and athletics administrators. And eventually culminating in A DOJ Investigation called Operation Varsity Blues ending in over 50 convictions of Parents, Coaches, and of course Rick himself. I'm excited to get into another wacky investigation. Eventually Rick gets flipped and starts helping the DOJ do sting operations for a reduced sentence. But that's all a bit later!
This episode we are going to talk about the increasingly intense and crazy college admissions world and the insane helicopter parents that made this scandal possible. Then we will talk about Rick's childhood and early career. Up to him starting his first Consulting company “Future Stars”
Sources:
“Guilty Admissions: The Bribes,Favors, and Phonies Behind the College Cheating Scandal” by Nicole LaPorte (2021)
“Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & The Making of the College Admissions Scandal” by Melissa Korn and Jennifer Levitz (2020)
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