Abstract

This article presents data on the reterritorialization of global economic elites and expands the dominant framework of global cities when considering flows of finance capital.  Based on two ethnographies of highly mobile business elites, in the VIP party circuit and the financial conference circuit, we show how global capital flows move through social networks forged and maintained in temporary social scenes that exist far beyond the well-studied urban centers of financial industries.  We document how finance networks are established through embodied practices and social rituals linked across the seemingly peripheral locales of Cannes, the Hamptons, Miami, and Las Vegas, zones of both work and “play” that make up “entertainment circuits,” and are central to global business communities.  In these circuits, social capital accumulation manifests in two forms, tie formation and tie strengthening, both of which are central to elites’ business ventures.  These global networks and related interactions of economic elites serve as mechanisms for social closure in the development of relationships, deals, and markets.  The findings suggest that extra-boardroom interactions by participants in far-flung locales and in alternate circuits are crucial to the understanding of elites, their relationships, and business practices.  Implications include the consideration of non-traditional geographies, related networks, and interactions therein as objects of study.

For an advance copy of the paper, please contact Theresa Anasti at tanasti@uchicago.edu.  For access concerns, please contact Brian Tuohy at btuohy@uchicago.edu.