Billion Dollar Whale
Two Pulitzer-finalist Wall Street Journal reporters document the true story of how a young social climber orchestrated one of history's biggest financial heists, exposing the secret nexus of elite wealth, banking, Hollywood and politics. 75,000 first printing. "What does it take to steal $5 billion? In 2009, with the dust yet to settle on the financial crisis, a mild-mannered Wharton grad set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude--one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system. His name is Jho Low, a man whose behavior was so preposterous he might seem made up. If Jho Low appeared shy on the surface, behind the scenes he was a big-talking, social-climbing huckster. Barely out of college, Low persuaded the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, to create an investment fund, known as 1MDB. Directing it from the shadows, Low raised more than $10 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs and others, and over the next half decade siphoned off billions--money used to finance elections; to purchase luxury real estate; to produce Hollywood films, including The Wolf of Wall Street; and to throw champagne-drenched parties around the world
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What you might want to know about Billion Dollar Whale
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Wall Street Journal reporters retrace how Malaysian financier Jho Low siphoned billions from a state-owned fund, bankrolled a Hollywood studio, and threw celebrity-soaked parties on three continents.
Yes. Billion Dollar Whale is the nonfiction account of the 1MDB scandal, in which Malaysian financier Jho Low diverted billions from a state investment fund. Tom Wright and Bradley Hope reported the story for The Wall Street Journal.
Billion Dollar Whale was effectively unavailable in Malaysia for years after its 2018 publication due to lawsuits and import restrictions tied to the ongoing 1MDB criminal cases. It is now legal there, though Jho Low remains a fugitive.
Billion Dollar Whale was written by Wright, Tom (Wall Street Journal reporter), published in 2018 by Conecta.
Billion Dollar Whale is 400 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Billion Dollar Whale takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
Billion Dollar Whale is a standalone novel by Wright, Tom (Wall Street Journal reporter), not part of a series.
Billion Dollar Whale is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.