by Rob Copeland
First published 2023
Ray Dalio built Bridgewater Associates into the world's largest hedge fund over nearly five decades. The billionaire founder promoted his management philosophy through bestselling books and media appearances, positioning himself as a benevolent business leader with revolutionary principles. Award-winning New York Times journalist Rob Copeland reveals the darker truth behind this carefully crafted image. Drawing from hundreds of interviews with insiders, Copeland shows how Dalio's celebrated "radical transparency" created a culture of paranoia and backstabbing. The book follows a cast of characters navigating the psychological pressures of working under Dalio's charismatic but demanding leadership. Former FBI director Jim Comey and Senate candidate David McCormick appear among those who fell under the hedge fund titan's influence. Copeland exposes the gap between Dalio's public persona and private reality, revealing how the pursuit of wealth often comes at a steep human cost.
Genres: business, politics, contemporary, non-fiction
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Bridgewater Associates, New York
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press