Billion Dollar Whale

The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World

De: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright

Narrado por: Will Collyer

Named a Best Book of 2018 by the Financial Times and Fortune, this "thrilling" (Bill Gates) New York Times bestseller exposes how a "modern Gatsby" swindled over $5 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs in "the heist of the century" (Axios).

Now a #1 international bestseller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history.

In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude--one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system. Over a decade, Low, with the aid of Goldman Sachs and others, siphoned billions of dollars from an investment fund--right under the nose of global financial industry watchdogs. Low used the money to finance elections, purchase luxury real estate, throw champagne-drenched parties, and even to finance Hollywood films like The Wolf of Wall Street.

By early 2019, with his yacht and private jet reportedly seized by authorities and facing criminal charges in Malaysia and in the United States, Low had become an international fugitive, even as the U.S. Department of Justice continued its investigation.

Billion Dollar Whale has joined the ranks of Liar's Poker, Den of Thieves, and Bad Blood as a classic harrowing parable of hubris and greed in the financial world.

Reseñas de la Crítica

A Fortune magazine Best Book of 2018

A Financial Times Best Book of 2018

"As Bad Blood is to biotech, Billion Dollar Whale is to international finance... a wonderful read... Thrilling."—Bill Gates

"What a blast to read! A true life thriller that reads like a Hollywood movie, Billion Dollar Whale traces the exploits of the most mercurial, mysterious big player in history. Jho Low is Gatsby with twice the bank account and ten times the ambition, and the stories surrounding his exploits leap right off the page!"—Ben Mezrich, NewYork Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and BringingDown The House

"If you like global intrigue, financial crime, wealth porn, and absurdity, Billion Dollar Whale, by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, is for you.... It almost seems made up. Still, anyone who has followed the news out of Malaysia will know that the story is all too real."—The New Yorker

"Wright and Hope deliver a scintillating and prodigiously reported tale of a globe-spanning modern Gatsby and his audacious fraud."—Jesse Eisinger,Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for ProPublica and author of TheChickenshit Club

"This story of a Wharton graduate who carried out the $5 billion swindle known as 1MDB offers a textbook case of financial fraud in the modern age."—New York Times

"An incredible story.... If you need some billionaires to despise--look no further than these charlatans."—Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit

"Just finished reading Billion Dollar Whale and was blown away. I thought I had seen it all with Russian kleptocracy, but the story of the money stolen in Malaysia in 1MDB and all the enthusiastic Western enablers was unbelievable."
—Bill Browder, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Notice

"Even the most skilled fiction writer would have trouble conjuring the corrupt and colorful protagonist of Billion Dollar Whale. Bradley Hope and Tom Wright's gripping portrait of Jho Low and his enablers throughout the global financial system will both fascinate and enrage you."—Sheelah Kolhatkar,staff writer at The New Yorker and New YorkTimes bestselling author of Black Edge

"The story of a massive international financial scandal... As the authors amply prove, the scandal reaches far beyond Low. To succeed, he relied on the naivete, greed, and generally immoral conduct of huge banks as well as corrupt governments."—Kirkus

"An amazing tale of greed.... juicy and entertaining."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Wright and Hope transform their investigation of a mind-boggling financial fraud into a nonfiction thriller... This is an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Excellent Portrayal of Financial Fraud

The detail of the fraudulent scheme of this book is a good challenge and brain workout to follow, even for Masters-level finance and economics majors. The rich "follow the money" technique used by these writers makes the book a page turner. One caveat, however, is that the current day behavior of the Trumps and Kushners jump out of every chapter one way or another. I found the book outstanding because of these two levels of recognizable insight. It also fully describes the decadence and shallowness of some of the Hollywood set and political power brokers. I would have given the story a five, except I hoped for more (much more) justice being meted out.

A really great bok

This is one of these crazy con man stories that I absorb wholeheartedly. The writer has done a fine job of including the details of both individuals and institutions to make the story come alive.

A good book written by two Democrats

It s a good book, but the two authors do everything possible to try to infer a connection between crooks and Trump, it’s awkward. They try to suggesting a connection due to the fact one of the crooks stayed at a Trump Hotel. Lol. Unfortunately for the authors narrative, no connection exists between Trump and the crooks. A sad truth for the authors. However there was a meaning connection between the crooks and Barry Obama, something the authors brush aside. What’s hilarious about the quick dismissal is Obama was closely connected with the crooks, in fact golfing buddies, and his friendship likely helped the crooks pull of the steal. However the authors could never hold Obama to account for his actions, due to their affection for him. On that note, I hope these authors can give up mud slinging in their future books, or at least focus scrutinizing the US leader that was actually connected to the criminality.

It’s a great story non the less.

Compelling, interesting story that struggles with the complexity of the details.

As a study of sheer audacity of the main character, this book is worth listening to. I suggest you listen as a 3 part series with Markopolos’ “No One Would Listen” and Carreyrou’s “Bad Blood” to fully capture the 21st century megalomaniac capable of stealing $ billions in plain sight.

proof of greed and fraud in global finance

This is a clear commentary on level of greed and fraud in global banking and financial system. Perpetrators escape justice by using money to buy their way out of trouble, and bankers and officials who profited turned a blind eye to what was obvious right in front of them. So far.. no one has suffered any consequences whatsoever.