Why Wyoming is so Weirdly Wealthy

Writing by Christine Benedetti, Corinne Neustadter, Sam Denby, and Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Animation led by Max Moser
Sound by Graham Haerther
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster

[joereynolds]

I lived there 20-odd years ago… the joke then was the billionaires were pushing the millionaires out.

[jamesdrummond]

tax avoidance. the answer is always tax avoidance.

[philipundisclosed]

People I know who work there all treat it as a seasonal gig. Make 20 bucks an hour plus room and board and tips for a summer, and then go back to college. Great deal if you're 19, but it probably wouldn't be as much fun if you're 37...

[SpeedyTubaGuy]

I went to Jackson for vacation a couple of years ago and our waiter at the Thai restaurant at night was our waiter the next morning at a different diner for breakfast. I can't imagine how many hours he had to work to live there

[orangewarm]

This really about second/third homes, space and privacy. None of them actually live in Wyoming, they just escape there at Christmas and pandemics.

[huntergriffey]

Local here. Many who live over Teton pass has now been forced to quit their jobs, as the pass has been closed by a landslide and mudslide for the foreseeable future.

[Coconutsales]

Just pointing out that the building shown at 7:13 isn't a billionaire's home, but rather the Lake Yellowstone Hotel in Yellowstone National Park. While people do call the area home seasonally (workers who are employed and housed on-property) it is not home to billionaires. It is the most luxe hotel in the park, though, so is a good factor for wealth in the area but not a good example of a billionaire's home. I work in Yellowstone so I thought I would point that out.

[justinmellem]

I actually work in Jackson as an electrician. You can smell the wealth disparity.

[JohnTaylor-xgjn]

Ironically the road through the Teton pass from idaho Falls to Jackson got taken out by a landslide a few days ago.

[funckypickle]

The irony of all these nature loving people flying in on hundreds of private jets.

[hargibson]

Holy s**t that tax write off for the conservation easement is crazy. A charitable deduction for up to half your annual income for up to 15 years!!! Thats wild.

[Kadulikan]

"Why do so many billionaires live in X? And why is it taxes?"

[r.r.r.]

I live in Jackson Hole and rich people have flat out destroyed the middle class and the community along with it. Housing is utterly unaffordable. I'm leaving this year along with many many others...

[uresfffff]

Wyoming’s winter is something else honestly, I have been Lapland, Finland in winter and for some reason Wyoming felt colder it’s gotta be the wind 😂

[junkice]

The timing of this video couldn't be any better.
Just a few days ago, the main road in and out of Jackson, Teton Pass (WY state highway 22) experienced some crazy landslides and is currently closed without a hard date on when it will be reopened. There are roads around the pass, but they're more than an hour detour and even more terrible roads. He mentioned at the end of the video that a lot of working class people live in Driggs and Victor, ID, and therefore commute across the pass daily. With the pass offline, many people haven't been able to get to their jobs, and businesses in the town are struggling at the moment. There are plans to get busses to go around the pass to help commuters, but either way the town is having a crisis at the moment.

[Alkiviadis_]

World record for most words beginning with W in a YouTube title, I bet.

[Tony-Red]

Wendover's Why Wyoming is so Weirdly Wealthy. W.

[phantomfrogstudios]

I was born and raised in Jackson. It's punishingly expensive there for the working class. I used to work retail making less than 12 bucks an hour. I moved away for college, and then my family moved away a few years later. My friends moved away, and so did their parents. I know practically nobody there anymore because nobody can afford to live there. The normal 3BR house that my dad paid for in 1990 was I think $90k. He lost it a long time ago, but Zillow has it listed for $1.6 million. A beautiful but terribly expensive place.

[RILDIGITAL]

It's saddening to realize how the cycle of wealth accumulation tends to benefit a small group, often leaving much of the population struggling. It makes one think hard about the potential solutions to such systemic issues.

[lukebanks]

Most low wage employees live in Victor Idaho and drive through the Teton pass to work in Jackson. But the 45 min drive just turned into two hours arter a massive landslide took out the pass