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Review
Simply terrific. Easily the best of the post-crash financial books (Malcolm Gladwell )
Greg Zuckerman was the first to tell the world about John Paulson's sensational trade . . . He's written the definitive account of a strange and wonderful subplot of the financial crisis (Michael Lewis, author of Liar's Poker )
A must-read for anyone fascinated by financial madness (Mail on Sunday )
A forensic, read-in-one-sitting book (Sunday Times )
Extraordinary, excellent (Observer )
Compelling (Economist )
Zuckerman takes us to Wall Street's heart of darkness, where mushroomed a $1 trillion subprime mortgage market that only the few, the brave, the smart dared short. This is at once a great page-turner and a great illuminator of the market's crash. (John Heylar, co-author of Barbarians at the Gate )
Much, much more than a brilliant account of Paulson's trade of the century; this book 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. Compulsory reading. (Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co and author of When Markets Collide )
A magnificent insider look at how Paulson and others profited off of subprime's demise... insightful and gripping. (Marketfolly.com )
Greg Zuckerman was the first to tell the world about John Paulson's sensational trade . . . He's written the definitive account of a strange and wonderful subplot of the financial crisis (Michael Lewis, author of Liar's Poker )
A must-read for anyone fascinated by financial madness (Mail on Sunday )
A forensic, read-in-one-sitting book (Sunday Times )
Extraordinary, excellent (Observer )
Compelling (Economist )
Zuckerman takes us to Wall Street's heart of darkness, where mushroomed a $1 trillion subprime mortgage market that only the few, the brave, the smart dared short. This is at once a great page-turner and a great illuminator of the market's crash. (John Heylar, co-author of Barbarians at the Gate )
Much, much more than a brilliant account of Paulson's trade of the century; this book 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. Compulsory reading. (Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co and author of When Markets Collide )
A magnificent insider look at how Paulson and others profited off of subprime's demise... insightful and gripping. (Marketfolly.com )
Product Description
Autumn 2008. The world's finances collapse but one man makes a killing.
John Paulson, a softly spoken hedge-fund manager who still took the bus to work, seemed unlikely to stake his career on one big gamble. But he did - and The Greatest Trade Ever is the story of how he realised that the sub-prime housing bubble was going to burst, making $15 billion for his fund and more than $4 billion for himself in a single year. It's a tale of folly and wizardry, individual brilliance versus institutional stupidity.
John Paulson made the biggest winning bet in history. And this is how he did it.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you only read one book about the credit crunch, don't make it this one. The author has an irritatingly breathless, tabloidy tone and doesn't understand the material well enough to judge what was truly impressive about Paulson's trade. Working out that the US housing market was set for a fall, did not a genius make...
The Lewis, Lanchester and Lowenstein books are all massively superior. Buy them instead.
The Lewis, Lanchester and Lowenstein books are all massively superior. Buy them instead.
Format:Paperback
I wanted some light reading as I traveled and Zuckerman's account of how John Paulson bet against the US housing market seemed as good a read as any. As a non-financial person I found some if it very illuminating:
* Like innovations such as the the light bulb there were a number of people trying to make this trade work, some of them like Michael Burry had the trade messed up by his own investors who were withdrawing funds as he was making money killing the trade in the water. Quite why Burry was a zero and Paulson was a hero wasn't clearly articulated
* The banks not only packed toxic investments that drove the market but also developed the interests that could hedge against it in a cost-effective manner, with many of them screwing themselves
* Banks actively screwed their customers, even when they were being paid for advice. If I did that as an agency person I would leave myself open legally and would also likely get censured by the CIPR
* There was generally a lack of critical thinking and what-if scenario planning at the banks involved. On the one hand some of the most numerate people I have known come from an investment banking background. On the other hand investment models are often kludged together with massive Excel spreadsheets and macros - which I imagine plays hell with trying to get a helicopter view of an institution's financial position
* The key problem was one of timing, with investors essentially continually betting on black until the roulette wheel swung in their favour. They had no sense of the when beyond a vague `soon'
Zuckerman managed to make the subject matter accessible and understandable. One gets the sense that Paulson was fortunate rather than immensely talented as there didn't seem to be a lot separating him from other people making the same bet until he rolled the dice one last time.
* Like innovations such as the the light bulb there were a number of people trying to make this trade work, some of them like Michael Burry had the trade messed up by his own investors who were withdrawing funds as he was making money killing the trade in the water. Quite why Burry was a zero and Paulson was a hero wasn't clearly articulated
* The banks not only packed toxic investments that drove the market but also developed the interests that could hedge against it in a cost-effective manner, with many of them screwing themselves
* Banks actively screwed their customers, even when they were being paid for advice. If I did that as an agency person I would leave myself open legally and would also likely get censured by the CIPR
* There was generally a lack of critical thinking and what-if scenario planning at the banks involved. On the one hand some of the most numerate people I have known come from an investment banking background. On the other hand investment models are often kludged together with massive Excel spreadsheets and macros - which I imagine plays hell with trying to get a helicopter view of an institution's financial position
* The key problem was one of timing, with investors essentially continually betting on black until the roulette wheel swung in their favour. They had no sense of the when beyond a vague `soon'
Zuckerman managed to make the subject matter accessible and understandable. One gets the sense that Paulson was fortunate rather than immensely talented as there didn't seem to be a lot separating him from other people making the same bet until he rolled the dice one last time.
Format:Paperback
The Greatest Trade on Earth succeeds, like Andrew Ross Sorkin's tome "Too Big to Fail" in making a difficult and complex subject relatively accessible by writing it in the format of a novel.
That said, it could have majored more on the background and some of the complex derivatives and investments involved at the expense of irrelevant deep biographical background on some of the minor "characters" involved. Equally, Zuckerman omits detail where it was required towards the end, such as with his investing strategies after the Great Trade.
If, like me, you suspected that trouble was brewing from unsustainable consumer borrowing in the mid noughties, then the book will resonate well. If you are looking for an account of the credit crunch, try Too Big to Fail or Masters of Nothing before tacking this one as it will make more sense.
All in all though, it is still an informative and compelling read.
That said, it could have majored more on the background and some of the complex derivatives and investments involved at the expense of irrelevant deep biographical background on some of the minor "characters" involved. Equally, Zuckerman omits detail where it was required towards the end, such as with his investing strategies after the Great Trade.
If, like me, you suspected that trouble was brewing from unsustainable consumer borrowing in the mid noughties, then the book will resonate well. If you are looking for an account of the credit crunch, try Too Big to Fail or Masters of Nothing before tacking this one as it will make more sense.
All in all though, it is still an informative and compelling read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good Read
Solid reading, other books out there that pierce deeper into the intricacies of the financial instruments used in this overwhelming trade. Easy to read, finishable in one sitting.
Published 3 months ago by Hitchslap101
Good Read
Gives an excellent insight into a spectacular short, and is written in a flowing and very enjoyable manner. Quite a page turner.
Published 4 months ago by Derek Smith
The persuit of the Unholy Grail
An excellent read, showing in detail the how to get, but failing to address the the why any one would want 10 billion dollars. The man is not really in reality. Read more
Published 11 months ago by stevenup
A poorly written account of a great story
Although the underlying story is fascinating and truly remarkable, Zuckerman's pedantic writing style quickly starts to grate. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Qix
A story not very well told
This is a cute little read, but I wasn't terribly impressed. The author follows John Paulson's investment strategy from 2005 right into the financial crisis in 2008. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Thomas Koetzsch
Well told story
Written in the same style as Michael Lewis and Roger Lowenstein books about the financial industry, it didn't take long to get hooked and finish the book.
Published 14 months ago by KRK
Superb
Received this book just after Christmas and couldn't out it down. Reads almost like a thriller wondering will 'the trade' ever amount to what the main parties think it should be. Read more
Published 16 months ago by SB
Now I Know More About What Happened in that Financial Mess
A great book which tells you so much about what actually went wrong with the financial system through the device of the point of view of an insider who foresaw the massive pitiful... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Ronald Stuart
My review
It was great to have it delivered in minted condition. I want to thank them for providing me^ with this splendid book.
Published 17 months ago by Great books
Not the greatest book
You won't learn that much here, it follows hedge fund manager Paulson on his life and his fund. Full of complicated reading, that is not straight forward and not easy to read. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Ponums
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