Listen free for 30 days
-
Built on a Lie
- The Rise and Fall of Neil Woodford and the Fate of Middle England’s Money
- Narrated by: Thom Petty
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Entertainment & Celebrities
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £25.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Smartest Guys in the Room
- The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
- By: Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What went wrong with American business at the end of the 20th century? Until the spring of 2001, Enron epitomised the triumph of the New Economy. Feared by rivals, worshipped by investors, Enron seemingly could do no wrong. Its profits rose every year; its stock price surged ever upward; its leaders were hailed as visionaries. Then a young Fortune writer, Bethany McLean, wrote an article posing a simple question - how, exactly, does Enron make its money?
-
-
Immeasurable greed and swaggering lust for power
- By LoveBooks on 24-12-21
-
Money Men
- A Hot Startup, a Billion Dollar Fraud, a Fight for the Truth
- By: Dan McCrum
- Narrated by: Dan McCrum
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When investigative journalist Dan McCrum first came across Wirecard, the hot new tech company that looked poised to challenge Silicon Valley, it all looked a little too good to be true: offices were sprouting up all over the world, and they were reporting runaway growth. In the space of a few short years, the company had come from nowhere to overtake industry giants like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank on the stock market. As McCrum began to dig deeper, he encountered a story stranger and more compelling than he could have imagined.
-
-
Incredible story, but not told well
- By andrew on 04-08-22
-
The Spider Network
- The Wild Story of a Maths Genius, a Gang of Backstabbing Bankers, and One of the Greatest Scams in Financial History
- By: David Enrich
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2006 an oddball group of bankers, traders and brokers from some of the largest financial institutions made a startling realization: Libor - the London interbank offered rate, which determines the interest rates on trillions in loans worldwide - was set daily by a group of easily manipulated administrators, and they could reap huge profits by nudging it fractions of a percent to suit their trading portfolios. This group generated incredible riches - until it all unraveled in spectacularly vicious, backstabbing fashion.
-
-
dreary novel in a romantic style
- By Dubai_Paul on 02-05-17
-
Den of Thieves
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street - Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine - created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions - until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.
-
-
Long and Dry, but interesting
- By BDM on 11-11-14
-
Billion Dollar Loser
- A Sunday Times Book of the Year
- By: Reeves Wiedeman
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christened a potential saviour of Silicon Valley's start-up culture, Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork, his office-share company disrupting the commercial real estate market, public, cash out on the company's $47 billion valuation, and break the string of major start-ups unable to deliver to shareholders. But as employees knew, and investors soon found out, WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor, that in fact it was a transformational technology company.
-
-
Ultimately disappointing.
- By Alonzo on 04-02-21
-
The Caesars Palace Coup
- How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Power and Greed of Wall Street
- By: Max Frumes, Sujeet Indap
- Narrated by: Chris Kipiniak
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the most brutal corporate restructuring in Wall Street history. The 2015 bankruptcy brawl for the storied casino giant, Caesars Entertainment, pitted brilliant and ruthless private equity legends against the world's most relentless hedge fund wizards.
-
-
Great story but too technical
- By Amazon Customer on 16-04-21
-
The Smartest Guys in the Room
- The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
- By: Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What went wrong with American business at the end of the 20th century? Until the spring of 2001, Enron epitomised the triumph of the New Economy. Feared by rivals, worshipped by investors, Enron seemingly could do no wrong. Its profits rose every year; its stock price surged ever upward; its leaders were hailed as visionaries. Then a young Fortune writer, Bethany McLean, wrote an article posing a simple question - how, exactly, does Enron make its money?
-
-
Immeasurable greed and swaggering lust for power
- By LoveBooks on 24-12-21
-
Money Men
- A Hot Startup, a Billion Dollar Fraud, a Fight for the Truth
- By: Dan McCrum
- Narrated by: Dan McCrum
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When investigative journalist Dan McCrum first came across Wirecard, the hot new tech company that looked poised to challenge Silicon Valley, it all looked a little too good to be true: offices were sprouting up all over the world, and they were reporting runaway growth. In the space of a few short years, the company had come from nowhere to overtake industry giants like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank on the stock market. As McCrum began to dig deeper, he encountered a story stranger and more compelling than he could have imagined.
-
-
Incredible story, but not told well
- By andrew on 04-08-22
-
The Spider Network
- The Wild Story of a Maths Genius, a Gang of Backstabbing Bankers, and One of the Greatest Scams in Financial History
- By: David Enrich
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2006 an oddball group of bankers, traders and brokers from some of the largest financial institutions made a startling realization: Libor - the London interbank offered rate, which determines the interest rates on trillions in loans worldwide - was set daily by a group of easily manipulated administrators, and they could reap huge profits by nudging it fractions of a percent to suit their trading portfolios. This group generated incredible riches - until it all unraveled in spectacularly vicious, backstabbing fashion.
-
-
dreary novel in a romantic style
- By Dubai_Paul on 02-05-17
-
Den of Thieves
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street - Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine - created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions - until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.
-
-
Long and Dry, but interesting
- By BDM on 11-11-14
-
Billion Dollar Loser
- A Sunday Times Book of the Year
- By: Reeves Wiedeman
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christened a potential saviour of Silicon Valley's start-up culture, Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork, his office-share company disrupting the commercial real estate market, public, cash out on the company's $47 billion valuation, and break the string of major start-ups unable to deliver to shareholders. But as employees knew, and investors soon found out, WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor, that in fact it was a transformational technology company.
-
-
Ultimately disappointing.
- By Alonzo on 04-02-21
-
The Caesars Palace Coup
- How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Power and Greed of Wall Street
- By: Max Frumes, Sujeet Indap
- Narrated by: Chris Kipiniak
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the most brutal corporate restructuring in Wall Street history. The 2015 bankruptcy brawl for the storied casino giant, Caesars Entertainment, pitted brilliant and ruthless private equity legends against the world's most relentless hedge fund wizards.
-
-
Great story but too technical
- By Amazon Customer on 16-04-21
-
The Key Man
- How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale
- By: Simon Clark, Will Louch
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this compelling story of greed, chicanery and tarnished idealism, two Wall Street Journal reporters investigate a man who Bill Gates and Western governments entrusted with hundreds of millions of dollars to make profits and end poverty but now stands accused of masterminding one of the biggest, most brazen frauds ever.
-
-
very poor and simplistic book
- By rafa on 10-09-21
-
The Pyramid of Lies
- Lex Greensill and the Billion-Dollar Scandal
- By: Duncan Mavin
- Narrated by: Duncan Mavin
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In March 2021, an obscure financial technology company called Greensill Capital collapsed, going into administration. As it unravelled, a multibillion-dollar scandal emerged that would shake the very foundations of the British political system, drawing in swiss bankers, global CEOs, and world leaders, including former British Prime Minister, David Cameron. At the centre was an Australian financier named Lex Greensill. Pyramid of Lies charts the meteoric rise and spectacular downfall of Greensill and his company.
-
-
Brilliant from beginning to end
- By Ulla on 31-07-22
-
The Greatest Trade Ever
- How One Man Bet Against the Markets and Made $20 Billion
- By: Gregory Zuckerman
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Paulson, a softly spoken hedge-fund manager who still took the bus to work, seemed unlikely to stake his career on one big gamble. But he did - and The Greatest Trade Ever is the story of how he realised that the sub-prime housing bubble was going to burst, making $15 billion for his fund and more than $4 billion for himself in a single year. It's a tale of folly and wizardry, individual brilliance versus institutional stupidity.
-
-
A fascinating read
- By Brian B. on 08-04-21
-
Damaged Goods
- By: Oliver Shah
- Narrated by: Oliver Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penguin Audio presents Damaged Goods, by Oliver Shah. In March 2015, British businessman and the chairman of Arcadia Group Sir Philip Green sold BHS for £1 to Retail Acquisitions, owned by Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt who filed BHS for administration shortly after. By April 2016, BHS had debts of £1.3bn, including a pensions deficit of £571m. Damaged Goods follows Green's journey to the big time, the sale of BHS and the subsequent investigation that concluded with Green paying £363m to the Pensions Regulator.
-
-
How do they sleep at night?
- By stevieg on 17-07-18
-
The Deals of Warren Buffett, Volume 1: The First $100M
- By: Glen Arnold
- Narrated by: Jason Belvill
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this formative period, from 1941-78, Buffett developed and honed the investment philosophy that would lead him to become so successful as his career progressed. But it was not all plain sailing - Buffett made mistakes along the way - and Arnold shows how Buffett learned through success and failure how to select companies worth backing. Arnold also includes insightful "learning points" at the end of each chapter, which reveal how investors can learn from the craft of Warren Buffett to improve their own investing.
-
-
Great content but think this is a robot reading
- By Benjamin Long on 01-09-20
-
Trillions
- How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever
- By: Robin Wigglesworth
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Index funds are the most widely influential investment vehicles available. They have revolutionised investing by saving millions of people billions of dollars in fees that would otherwise have gone to fund managers. It is no exaggeration to say that the rise of passive investing is probably one of the most consequential financial inventions of the past half-century, by rewiring markets and reshaping the finance industry. Yet some detractors say that index investing is an insidious disease, and index funds may have cataclysmic consequences that we aren't even aware of yet.
-
-
Fascinating AF
- By Steven Aitchison on 06-03-22
-
All the Devils Are Here
- The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis
- By: Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On greedy traders, misguided regulators, sleazy subprime companies, cowardly legislators, or clueless home buyers? According to Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, two of America's most acclaimed business journalists, the real answer is all of the above-and more. Many devils helped bring hell to the economy.
-
-
Eye Opening
- By Anonymous User on 12-03-20
-
Dark Towers
- Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction
- By: David Enrich
- Narrated by: BJ Harrison
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dark Towers, award-winning journalist David Enrich reveals the truth about Deutsche Bank and its epic path of devastation. Tracing the bank’s history back to its propping up of a default-prone American developer in the 1880s, helping the Nazis build Auschwitz, and wooing Eastern Bloc authoritarians, he shows how in the 1990s, via a succession of hard-charging executives, Deutsche made a fateful decision to pursue Wall Street riches, often at the expense of ethics and the law.
-
-
Non fiction that reads like a thriller!
- By davidb55 on 18-11-20
-
Madoff Talks
- Uncovering the Untold Story Behind the Most Notorious Ponzi Scheme in History
- By: Jim Campbell
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No name is more synonymous with the evils of Wall Street than Bernie Madoff. Arrested for fraud in 2008 - during the depths of the global financial crisis - the 70-year-old market maker, investment advisor, and former chairman of the NASDAQ had orchestrated the largest Ponzi scheme in world history, fleecing thousands of investors across the globe to the tune of $65 billion. To this day, questions remain: Why did he do it? How did he get away with it for so long? What did his family know? Who is the elusive Bernie Madoff?
-
-
Ok, but kinda boring
- By Craig Beck on 20-07-22
-
Rogue Trader
- By: Nick Leeson
- Narrated by: Andy Cresswell
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This account describes how a 28-year-old from Watford, Nick Leeson, plunged Barings Bank into ruin. In 1994, Leeson seemed to be making the company millions of pounds a week, but he explains how the cover-up of a colleague's small error led to the crash of Britain's oldest merchant bank.
-
-
fascinating listen
- By Nj3vans on 17-07-19
-
Fall
- The Mystery of Robert Maxwell
- By: John Preston
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 1991, the media mogul and former MP Robert Maxwell made a triumphant entrance into Manhattan harbour aboard his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, to complete his purchase of the ailing New York Daily News. Crowds lined the quayside to watch his arrival, taxi drivers stopped their cabs to shake his hand and children asked for his autograph. But just 10 months later, Maxwell disappeared from the same yacht off the Canary Islands, only to be found dead in the water soon afterward.
-
-
Utterly fascinating!!
- By L. BETTLES on 08-02-21
-
The Buy Side
- A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess
- By: Turney Duff
- Narrated by: Turney Duff
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A remarkable writing debut, filled with indelible moments, The Buy Side shows as no book ever has the rewards – and dizzying temptations – of making a living on the Street.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Amazon Customer on 21-07-18
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
The proud owner of a sprawling £14 million estate in the Cotswolds, boasting a stable of eventing horses, a fleet of supercars and neighbouring the royal family, Neil Woodford was the most celebrated and successful British investor of his generation.
He spent years beating the market, betting against the dot com bubble in the 1990s and the banks before the financial crash in 2008, making blockbuster returns for his investors and earning himself a reputation of 'the man who made Middle England rich'. As famous for his fleet of fast cars and ostentatious mansions, he was the rockstar fund manager that had the lifestyle to match.
But, in 2019, after a stream of poorly judged investments, Woodford's asset management company collapsed, trapping hundreds of thousands of rainy-day savers in his flagship fund and hanging £3.6 billion in the balance.
In Built on a Lie, Financial Times Reporter Owen Walker reveals the disastrous failings of Woodford, the greed at the heart of his operation, the flaws of an industry in thrall to its star performers and the dangers of limited regulation. With exclusive access to Woodford's inner circle, Walker will reveal the full, jaw-dropping story of Europe's biggest investment scandal in a decade.
More from the same
What listeners say about Built on a Lie
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anon
- 06-05-21
Lifeless Narration but well informed book
Obviously this was written as a book and it does deal with a dry subject. But it maybe this is not one for the audio format. At times it was painful
to listen to the narrator convey interviews and quotes. The content is very well researched and informative.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- "greggy_123"
- 04-03-22
Dull
Interesting story of a bloke who ripped off thousands of hard working people whilst lining his pockets with obscene amounts of money.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul Darlow
- 02-08-21
Excellent book
Excellent book. A very British look at how financial institutions work and how the British regulators are just as guilty as their American counterparts of mismanagement and hubris.