First published 1995
Award-winning financial journalist Kurt Eichenwald reconstructs the massive securities fraud that consumed Prudential Bache during the 1980s. The investigation reveals how kickbacks and corrupt deals became standard practice at one of Wall Street's most trusted firms. Eichenwald traces the web of payoffs and shady transactions that enriched insiders while devastating thousands of investors. The book exposes the key figures who orchestrated this financial betrayal and the regulatory failures that allowed it to flourish. Through meticulous reporting, Eichenwald shows how ordinary investors lost enormous sums while executives protected their profits. This account demonstrates how institutional corruption can destroy lives and erode public trust in financial markets.
Genres: 20th-century, business, crime, non-fiction, 21st-century, finance
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: Wall Street
Period: 1980s
480 pages · Hardcover · HarperBusiness