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

Shortlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
An Economist Book of the Year

The 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 Sale lifts 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.

ISBN-13: 9780197651537

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Publication Date: 04-21-2022

Pages: 416

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

Javier Blas and Jack Farchy are two of the world's best-known journalists covering energy, commodities, and trading houses. They both work for Bloomberg, where Blas is a columnist specializing in energy and commodities and Farchy is a senior reporter covering natural resources. The World for Sale is their first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Last Swashbucklers

Chapter 1: The Pioneers
Chapter 2: The Godfather of Oil
Chapter 3: The Last Bank in Town
Chapter 4: Paper Barrels
Chapter 5: The Fall of Marc Rich
Chapter 6: The Biggest Closing-Down Sale in History
Chapter 7: Communism with Capitalist Influences
Chapter 8: Big Bang
Chapter 9: Petrodollars and Kleptocrats
Chapter 10: Destination Africa
Chapter 11: Hunger and Profit
Chapter 12: The Billionaire Factory
Chapter 13: Merchants of Power

Conclusion: A Lot of Skeletons
Acknowledgements
Appendices
Notes
Index Show More