The Bond King cover art

The Bond King

How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All

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The Bond King

By: Mary Childs
Narrated by: Mary Childs
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About this listen

This program is read by the author.

From the host of NPR’s Planet Money, the deeply investigated story of how one visionary, ruthless investor changed American finance forever.

Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. Ten thousand dollars and countless casino bans later, he was hooked, so he enrolled in business school.

The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino. Over the course of decades, Bill Gross turned the sleepy bond market into a destabilized game of high risk, high reward; founded Pimco, one of today’s most powerful, secretive, and cutthroat investment firms; helped to reshape our financial system in the aftermath of the Great Recession - to his own advantage; and gained legions of admirers, and enemies, along the way. Like every American antihero, his ambition would also be his undoing.

To understand the winners and losers of today’s money game, journalist Mary Childs argues, is to understand the bond market - and to understand the bond market is to understand the Bond King.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

©2021 Mary Childs (P)2021 Macmillan Audio
Business Politics & Government Professionals & Academics Thought-Provoking Great Recession Money

Critic Reviews

2022, Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

All stars
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A great recap of Pimpco’s history and Gross’ story. Mary does a fantastic job in her writing, and narrating. I don’t have much to say, other than the identity politics slant presented is tired.

A good story, written well, not much to pick at.

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