Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
Going Infinite
Buy Now for £12.99
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...
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
'I asked him how much it would take for him to sell FTX and go do something other than make money. He thought the question over. "One hundred and fifty billion dollars," he finally said-though he added that he had use for "infinity dollars"...'
Sam Bankman-Fried wasn't just rich. Before he turned thirty he'd become the world's youngest billionaire, making a record fortune in the crypto frenzy. CEOs, celebrities and world leaders vied for his time. At one point he considered paying off the entire national debt of the Bahamas so he could take his business there.
Then it all fell apart.
Who was this Gatsby of the crypto world, a rumpled guy in cargo shorts, whose eyes twitched across TV interviews as he played video games on the side, who even his million-dollar investors still found a mystery? What gave him such an extraordinary ability to make money - and how did his empire collapse so spectacularly?
Michael Lewis was there when it happened, having got to know Bankman-Fried during his epic rise. In Going Infinite he tells us a story like no other, taking us through the mind-bending trajectory of a character who never liked the rules and was allowed to live by his own. Both psychological portrait of a preternaturally gifted 'thinking machine', and wild financial roller-coaster ride, this is a twenty-first-century epic of high-frequency trading and even higher stakes, of crypto mania and insane amounts of money, of hubris and downfall. No one could tell it better.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Going Infinite
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- RSJ
- 16-01-24
A borderline hagiography
Not one of his best. Little depth of explanation of the people or events, and no real challenge of the Effective Altruism motivation purportedly underpinning SBF /FTX story.
A disappointment compared to his other works.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jannes Klaas
- 31-10-23
Fun story, poor journalism
I wish the author had waited for the trial and published with full information. E.g. he keeps repeating that FTX made $1bn in revenue but evidence from the trial suggested there were backdated trades (aka fraud) to make that number happen. You have been lied to Michael, and you didn’t take the time to find out. Great storytelling and performance though
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr Adam D Godfrey
- 27-11-23
Fascinating story
I had no idea of the back story on this and I was glued to the entire story. Such interesting people and some much going on in just 3 years!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-10-23
A fall from journalistic grace
This falls considerably short of the journalistic rigour and intensity of all Lewis' previous works.
I kept waiting for the tables to turn and Lewis to label his mistake once the crimes became obvious; but it never came.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Phil Tweed
- 03-11-23
Lewis provides characters - then let’s you judge
Michael Lewis has provided a fascinating glimpse of the goings on at FTX, but his writing is driven, as always by the characters and their motivations / behaviours. He’s not intending to provide a final conclusion and allows the different ‘players’ to surmise their position as the entire operation disintegrates.
Some reviews stating “poor journalism” etc. are missing the purpose of the book. It’s to shine a light and let the reader decide. I don’t believe he has “jumped the shark” at all.
Excellent listed and of the same high standard as so much of his prior works.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- connor s.
- 12-01-24
Great
Interesting story a good insight in to Sam’s world and crypto. I would have like more on the come up story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- PETER S WARING
- 06-10-23
Fair minded
The fact that some reviewers have criticised Lewis for being, among other things, "sycophantic," suggests just how raw this topic remains. Going Infinite is in no way a sympathetic account of FTX or Bankman-Fried. I found it to be fair-minded and imbued with that great Michael Lewis virtue: curiosity. Anyone who interprets it somehow as a defence of FTX might suffer from the same quirks of personality as its erstwhile CEO.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-10-23
A bit disappointing
I expected a lot from this book as the first take on a wild story from a brilliant author. Unfortunately it fell flat for me. Too many long detailed stories that were, quite frankly, a bit boring. I understand that he was trying to paint a character portrait of Sam but many of these stories felt tedious. I enjoyed the insights into how wild the crypto craze was and how easy it was to raise extraordinary amounts of money. But I think he falls short in acknowledging just how wrong it is for a company to fail so completely at looking after people’s money. Even if it wasn’t intentional fraud, what happened here was an extreme lack of fiduciary responsibility and he fails to call that out.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Craig F.
- 30-01-24
Takes you on a ride.
The information and depth of detail as the author takes you into the inner mind of a flawed genius is amazing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-03-24
Excellent story telling!
Very insightful commentary on the fascinating new world of crytocurrencies! Michael Lewis has done it again..
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!