The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources [Hardcover]

The World for Salelifts the lid on one of the least scrutinized corners of the world economy: the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard, and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets, enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centers. The result is an eye-opening tour through the wildest frontiers of the global economy, as well as a revelatory guide to how capitalism really works.Shortlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year AwardAnEconomistBook of the YearThe modern world is built on commodities - from the oil that fuels our cars to the metals that power our smartphones.We rarely stop to consider where they have come from. But we should.The World for Salelifts the lid on one of the least scrutinized corners of the world economy: the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard, and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets, enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centers. The result is an eye-opening tour through the wildest frontiers of the global economy, as well as a revelatory guide to how capitalism really works.Introduction: The Last SwashbucklersChapter 1: The PioneersChapter 2: The Godfather of OilChapter 3: The Last Bank in TownChapter 4: Paper BarrelsChapter 5: The Fall of Marc RichChapter 6: The Biggest Closing-Down Sale in HistoryChapter 7: Communism with Capitalist InfluencesChapter 8: Big BangChapter 9: Petrodollars and Kllã9