Books
The World for Sale
Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources
Javier Blas and Jack Farchy | 2021
In “The World for Sale,” Javier Blas and Jack Farchy reveal how a small group of traders have come to control the world’s most important commodities, from oil and gas to metals and agricultural products. The book tells the story of how these traders have amassed vast fortunes by exploiting market volatility and by taking advantage of weak governments and corrupt officials. It also shows how their activities have had a profound impact on the global economy, leading to higher prices for consumers, lower wages for workers, and environmental damage.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Book Reviews
Blas and Farchy, who both covered the commodities industry for the Financial Times before moving to Bloomberg News, have spent years talking with people who don’t talk. They mined thousands of pages of legal filings, company reports, prospectuses, and other rich veins of information. The book is superbly researched and tidily written: There’s no overwrought prose or tortured jargon, just a clean, compelling chronicle of the central role that commodity traders have played in the global economy from the end of World War II to the present. – Keith Johnson, Foreign Policy
The World For Sale opens with the private jet of Ian Taylor, the late chief executive of Vitol, making corkscrew turns into Benghazi airport in 2011 so he can dodge hostile missiles and strike a deal to supply the rebel forces with oil in the middle of the Libyan civil war. That turns out to be one of the more conventional deals that pepper the narrative. – Felix Martin, Financial Times
Author Book Discussions
About the Authors
Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities.
Jack Farchy is a Senior Reporter for Energy and Commodities at Bloomberg News.
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