First published 2012
Charles Gasparino exposes the hidden partnership between President Obama and Wall Street's most powerful CEOs. While Obama publicly condemns the "fat cats" who benefit from government bailouts, Gasparino argues the president's anger is manufactured theater. The book reveals how Obama struck deals with the same banking executives he criticizes in public, trading regulatory favors for political support of his expansive government agenda. Through interviews with key CEOs and political insiders, Gasparino traces decades of collusion between major banks and federal officials that created today's corrupt system. The author shows how large financial institutions receive taxpayer-funded rescues while small businesses face crushing taxes and reckless government spending. Obama's supposed reformist promises mask a transactional relationship where bankers support him not for change, but for profitable business opportunities. Gasparino documents this betrayal of ordinary Americans who suffer unemployment and economic hardship while connected elites prosper from backroom arrangements.
Genres: business, american, political-science, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, political-thriller
Setting: Wall Street
Period: 2000s, 2010s
304 pages · Paperback · Penguin Publishing Group