The Greatest Trade Ever

The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History

By: Gregory Zuckerman

Narrated by: Marc Cashman

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

In 2006, hedge fund manager John Paulson realized something few others suspected - that the housing market and the value of subprime mortgages were grossly inflated and headed for a major fall.

Paulson's background was in mergers and acquisitions, however, and he knew little about real estate or how to wager against housing.

He had spent a career as an also-ran on Wall Street. But Paulson was convinced this was his chance to make his mark. He just wasn't sure how to do it.

Colleagues at investment banks scoffed at him and investors dismissed him.

Even pros skeptical about housing shied away from the complicated derivative investments that Paulson was just learning about.

But Paulson and a handful of renegade investors such as Jeffrey Greene and Michael Burry began to bet heavily against risky mortgages and precarious financial companies. Timing is everything, though. Initially, Paulson and the others lost tens of millions of dollars as real estate and stocks continued to soar. Rather than back down, however, Paulson redoubled his bets, putting his hedge fund and his reputation on the line.

In the summer of 2007, the markets began to implode, bringing Paulson early profits, but also sparking efforts to rescue real estate and derail him. By year's end, though, John Paulson had pulled off the greatest trade in financial history, earning more than $15 billion for his firm - a figure that dwarfed George Soros's billion-dollar currency trade in 1992.

Paulson made billions more in 2008 by transforming his gutsy move.

Some of the underdog investors who attempted the daring trade also reaped fortunes. But others who got the timing wrong met devastating failure, discovering that being early and right wasn't nearly enough.

Written by the prizewinning reporter who broke the story in The Wall Street Journal, The Greatest Trade Ever is a superbly written, fast-paced, behind-the-scenes narrative of how a contrarian foresaw an escalating financial crisis - that outwitted Chuck Prince, Stanley O'Neal, Richard Fuld, and Wall Street's titans - to make financial history.

©2009 Gregory Zuckerman (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"Greg Zuckerman's book is much, much more than a brilliant account of Paulson's trade of the century; it also provides a highly enjoyable and lucid journey through the analytical and emotional maze that constituted the financial markets on the eve of the Great Recession. The book is compulsory reading for those looking for exceptional insights on the complex forces that interconnect Wall Street, hedge funds and Main Street." (Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Investment Management Co.)

Another Classic by Greg

Greg is awesome. This was my 2nd Gregory Zuckerman book, finished in 2 days as story was so engaging.

Great financial read

Well written backstory of our nation's financial debacle. I enjoyed the various angles besides John Paulson's.

Fascinating Probably not detailed enough for Wall

Street wonks., But that is not most of us.

Whole episode raises interesting ethical questions.

Underwhelming for such a great story

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Other books on this subject where much more dramatic and gripping. It's an incredible story and some of the characters would couldn't invent yet the way this story moved it was a little vanilla and bland.

Has The Greatest Trade Ever turned you off from other books in this genre?

Nope

Would you be willing to try another one of Marc Cashman’s performances?

Yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Greatest Trade Ever?

None

Any additional comments?

No

Good performance, just an OK book.

It is read well, but the story itself is all over the place. It seems like the author might have had a much longer book and then cut it down pretty significantly.

Better Books Now Available

This book may have been a decent report when it was published but it has since been overtaken by more complete or better written accounts. "All the Devils are Here" is an amazing comprehensive tome on the financial crisis and 30 years of policies that got us there. "The Big Short" focuses, like this book, on people who shorted the housing market but it more insightful and better written.

delamic

if you have read the big short by lewis don't bother reading this book as there is nothing new. if you have a choice between the two books go with michael lewis. he is a better writer and the narration is also better.

Easy going story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Wonderful book to listen when you are in the car or have the will to relax. The story is easy and you just have to take it in..... the fun of it is that at the end of the day it is true and some had got it right a long time before the federal agencies and the fed decided to understand what was happening. this magical down turn in the economy so many are suffering of has been able to generate so much wealth for a view is astonishing and will et you wonder a lot on the reality of wall street....

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

if they made a film out of the book I would certainly go and see it.