Kapitalism: Our Improved Formula

Twenty years after the execution of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania has the appearance of a Western, capitalist democracy, decorated with billboards, prestigious stores and fancy cars. But behind the enticing commerce, dilapidated buildings are lurking, the country has the lowest per capita income of all former Soviet states, and 32% of that income goes to a small group of millionaires. Filmmaker Alexandru Solomon goes searching for the cause of the lopsided growth and interviews some of the multimillionaires and even billionaires. Dinu Patriciu - worth two billion euros - appears to have made the majority of his fortune in the less-than-legal sale of a former state energy company. George "Gigi" Becali, former owner of the Steaua Bucharest soccer team and worth 2.5 billion euros, has been to court on several occasions for dubious financial transactions. Surrounded by mirrored walls, these big-time capitalists, who all have strong roots both in the former regime and the current government, allow Solomon to interview them. They aren't ashamed in the least - neither of their obscene wealth nor of the evident corruption it took to get it. In the words of one, "You can't be successful unless you steal." The Romanian people seem to have resigned themselves to this, but the question remains who will pay the bill for all the unabashed greed.