About:
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope tells of one of the biggest financial heists in history. Misters Wright and Hope are Pulitzer-finalist Wall Street Journal, reporters.
- 12 hours and 26 minutes
- Publisher : Hachette Audio
- Language : English
- ASIN : B07G9JJ6TB
- Narrator : Will Collyer
My rating for Billion Dollar Whale– 4
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Thoughts:
This book impeccably researched the scandal instigated by Malaysian businessman Jho Low in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The book describes how Low, together with ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak created a sovereign wealth fund that raised $10 billion. Eventually, half of the fund disappeared.
Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope tells of the scam, the scandal, and the tax oversights which allowed Low to take huge amounts of money and live the life many can only dream of. Ironically, while throwing a huge party celebrating the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, its protagonist Jordan Belfort, told his girlfriend that the only people who spend money so frivolously are those who stole it.
On second thought – maybe not ironic at all.
The most fascinating aspect of the book, for me, was how all the financial safeguards either failed or were ignored due to greed and the large amounts involved. It seems that all were blinded by Low’s audacity, and the celebrities he surrounded himself with (many paid to show up).
However, the book could be repetitive with many details which are retold several times. That is fine but seems to be overdone. The authors also tried to artificially insert a cliffhanger into the end of every chapter. That’s great if you’re doing a weekly series but there’s no need to do so in a book such as this.
Synopsis:
Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman, and Wharton graduate, who has been accused of stealing $4.5 billion from the Malaysian state development fund. Mr. Low has managed to fool not only public and
Low is now a fugitive sought after by Interpol. He has been charged with offenses relating to money laundering in the US and Malaysia.
Buy Billion Dollar Whale from Amazon.com*
More books by Tom Wright*
More books by Bradley Hope*
More books narrated by Will Collyer*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer:I bought this book through an Audible.com membership.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
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