Based on Reich’s 2010 book Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future, the film examines widening income inequality in the United States. U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich tries to raise awareness of the country’s widening economic gap. He publicly argued about the issue for decades, and producing a film of his viewpoints was a “final frontier” for him. In addition to being a social issue documentary, Inequality for All is also partially a biopic regarding Reich’s early life and his time as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton’s presidency. Warren Buffett and Nick Hanauer, two entrepreneurs and investors in the top 1%, are interviewed in the film, supporting Reich’s belief in an economy that benefits all citizens, including those of the middle and lower classes.
