LAUREN GREENFIELD's photos from Generation Wealth

Ahead of the release of Generation Wealth on Friday, we've gathered a selection of stills featured in the film taken by documentary photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield. The award-winning director of the smash hit The Queen of Versailles returns with a 25-year-long inquiry into the aspiration for wealth. 

Tops off

Nothing but tops down and shirts off for the wealthy when living in LA.

Image: Mijanou, 18, who was voted Best Physique at Beverly Hills High School, at Senior Beach Day, Santa Monica, California, 1993. © Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

Image: Mijanou, 18, who was voted Best Physique at Beverly Hills High School, at Senior Beach Day, Santa Monica, California, 1993. © Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

 

Learning Luxury

Wealth is not just having money but also living a certain lifestyle.  To learn this lifestyle one only needs to take classes to know which brands are best, what to wear and how to talk.

Sara Jane Ho, 28, teaches etiquette skills for the wealthy, such as the proper pronunciation of foreign luxury brand names, Beijing, 2014. © Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

Sara Jane Ho, 28, teaches etiquette skills for the wealthy, such as the proper pronunciation of foreign luxury brand names, Beijing, 2014. © Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

 

Looking like a million dollars

Everything needs to be luxurious when you have wealth from your shoes to your toys.

Ilona at home with her daughter, Michelle, 4, Moscow, 2012. © Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

Ilona at home with her daughter, Michelle, 4, Moscow, 2012. © Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

 

Bathroom Selfie

Lauren is seen showing off one family's wealth through a selfie in a gold accented bathroom.

Lauren Greenfield worked for 25 years to find the truth of what wealth and riches did to those surrounded by it.

Lauren Greenfield photographs in the Presidential Suite at the Burj Al Arab hotel, Dubai, UAE, 2009. © Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

Lauren Greenfield photographs in the Presidential Suite at the Burj Al Arab hotel, Dubai, UAE, 2009. © Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

Florian Homm

Florian Homm let his obsession with wealth take over his life leading to him fleeing the country over investment fraud.

Hedge-fund manager Florian Homm, 55, Frankfurt, 2014. Homm was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for defrauding investors of $200 million. © Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

Hedge-fund manager Florian Homm, 55, Frankfurt, 2014. Homm was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for defrauding investors of $200 million. © Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE