Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction
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- Create Date：2021-06-22 07:56:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Enrich
- ISBN：0063044889
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Summary
#1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
New York Times finance editor David Enrich's explosive exposé of the most scandalous bank in the world， revealing its shadowy ties to Donald Trump， Putin's Russia， and Nazi Germany
“A jaw-dropping financial thriller” —Philadelphia Inquirer
On a rainy Sunday in 2014， a senior executive at Deutsche Bank was found hanging in his London apartment。 Bill Broeksmit had helped build the 150-year-old financial institution into a global colossus， and his sudden death was a mystery， made more so by the bank’s efforts to deter investigation。 Broeksmit， it turned out， was a man who knew too much。
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。
Soon， the bank was manipulating markets， violating international sanctions to aid terrorist regimes， scamming investors， defrauding regulators， and laundering money for Russian oligarchs。 Ever desperate for an American foothold， Deutsche also started doing business with a self-promoting real estate magnate nearly every other bank in the world deemed too dangerous to touch: Donald Trump。 Over the next twenty years， Deutsche executives loaned billions to Trump， the Kushner family， and an array of scandal-tarred clients， including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein。
Dark Towers is the never-before-told saga of how Deutsche Bank became the global face of financial recklessness and criminality—the corporate equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction。 It is also the story of a man who was consumed by fear of what he’d seen at the bank—and his son’s obsessive search for the secrets he kept。
New York Times finance editor David Enrich's explosive exposé of the most scandalous bank in the world， revealing its shadowy ties to Donald Trump， Putin's Russia， and Nazi Germany
“A jaw-dropping financial thriller” —Philadelphia Inquirer
On a rainy Sunday in 2014， a senior executive at Deutsche Bank was found hanging in his London apartment。 Bill Broeksmit had helped build the 150-year-old financial institution into a global colossus， and his sudden death was a mystery， made more so by the bank’s efforts to deter investigation。 Broeksmit， it turned out， was a man who knew too much。
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。
Soon， the bank was manipulating markets， violating international sanctions to aid terrorist regimes， scamming investors， defrauding regulators， and laundering money for Russian oligarchs。 Ever desperate for an American foothold， Deutsche also started doing business with a self-promoting real estate magnate nearly every other bank in the world deemed too dangerous to touch: Donald Trump。 Over the next twenty years， Deutsche executives loaned billions to Trump， the Kushner family， and an array of scandal-tarred clients， including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein。
Dark Towers is the never-before-told saga of how Deutsche Bank became the global face of financial recklessness and criminality—the corporate equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction。 It is also the story of a man who was consumed by fear of what he’d seen at the bank—and his son’s obsessive search for the secrets he kept。
Reviews
Tabatha
，
As someone who understands little about banking， I still found this book to be informative and enlightening。 There is a lot to be learned about human nature in these pages。 I agree with other reviews that it did feel like the Trump content was added just to sell more copies， it didn’t add much to the narrative。 That said， i really enjoyed the book and I am shocked and saddened that it is a true story。
Leonore
，
Excellent book。 I really had wanted to know how Deutsche Bank was involved in Trump's finances and now I have a much better understanding how a bank could lend to him with his totally bad record of paying back his loans。 They were the perfect bank because they were so poorly organized vis a vis modern banking。 Actually if they had stuck to their old fashioned type of banking there horrible troubles might have been prevented。 It was a good combination of the personalities and an explanation of ho Excellent book。 I really had wanted to know how Deutsche Bank was involved in Trump's finances and now I have a much better understanding how a bank could lend to him with his totally bad record of paying back his loans。 They were the perfect bank because they were so poorly organized vis a vis modern banking。 Actually if they had stuck to their old fashioned type of banking there horrible troubles might have been prevented。 It was a good combination of the personalities and an explanation of how Deutsche Bank did this。 Mostly they were just stupid but its not an excuse。 I hope they go down in flames and are instrumental in bringing down treasonous Trump。 。。。more
Writemoves
，
Deutsche Bank has loaned Donald Trump a lot of money。 Some of it was unsecured。 Some with his “personal guarantee。” Given that no major U。S。 bank would be eager to loan Trump or members of his family money that gives the reader some idea of the judgement and decision making at Deutsche Bank。As I was reading of the corruption， bad judgements， poor management and greed at the Bank， I wondered how it has survived。 Their technology and banking systems were described as antiquated。 Employees were usi Deutsche Bank has loaned Donald Trump a lot of money。 Some of it was unsecured。 Some with his “personal guarantee。” Given that no major U。S。 bank would be eager to loan Trump or members of his family money that gives the reader some idea of the judgement and decision making at Deutsche Bank。As I was reading of the corruption， bad judgements， poor management and greed at the Bank， I wondered how it has survived。 Their technology and banking systems were described as antiquated。 Employees were using Lotus Notes and Excel spreadsheets to track data。 Sounds like one could not trust the accuracy of the financial reports of the corporation。So many suicides， divorces， drugs and aberrant behavior by executives of the bank！ The author has detailed the “behind the scenes” behaviors at the bank。If you are a shareholder of the bank， this book is a horror story。 Very well written。 Entertaining。 。。。more
Jake
，
You know the eye pop emoji that people share when they read something incredible？ I feel like you could have laid that one out on just about every ten pages in this book。 My word。I didn’t know much about Deutsche Bank before Donald Trump， mostly because they don’t have a presence for American peons like me。 Even after， I only had the stomach to learn so much。 I assumed they did shady stuff to help Trump get away with shady stuff， etc。There’s that but the Trump stuff here is like 1/3rd of the boo You know the eye pop emoji that people share when they read something incredible？ I feel like you could have laid that one out on just about every ten pages in this book。 My word。I didn’t know much about Deutsche Bank before Donald Trump， mostly because they don’t have a presence for American peons like me。 Even after， I only had the stomach to learn so much。 I assumed they did shady stuff to help Trump get away with shady stuff， etc。There’s that but the Trump stuff here is like 1/3rd of the book and while it’s interesting， the whole story itself is a breath taker。 Deutsche Bank is apparently legendary for its corruption。 Sure， all financial giants are somewhat bent but Deutsche is on another level。 Dating back to its Nazi past which it never accounted for， the bank’s desire to compete with the Wall Street big shots made it take risk after risk until it was over leveraged to the hilt。Of course， no one seems interested in keeping these people in check。 Sure， Europe and the States will slap them with fines but by-and-large， they seem content to let the bank run amok in its ambition to be a dominant financial institution。 We can look at the wreckage of Deutsche and marvel but we have no right to ask “Why？” Dave Enrich provides clear answers。I love a financial book that is readable。 Enrich breaks this down easily enough for the layperson。 It reads like a thriller。 It’s an incredible tale。 。。。more
Nicole Marble
，
Endless。 Needs better writing
Matthew
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Extremely well-researched。 Enrich writes authoritatively on financial/accounting topics while never allowing the various scandals bog down into a mess of technical jargon。 It’s amazing how very unlike a bank these huge “banking” institutions have become。 They’re actually casinos where the degenerate gamblers run the show and morality is for chumps。
Greg Ross
，
A sad but compelling account of the history and fall of Deutsche Bank。
Daeny
，
I probably should’ve gone to his ath talkUgh， I hate people who work at the bank！。。。Shhh， I work at the bank。 Here is a dollar， do not tell anyone
Arista
，
There’s nothing wrong with this book except that I didn’t personally need so many details on a bunch of greedy， crooked bankers and the entitled， drug-fueled man-child who helped expose their activities。 After a while， I wanted them all just to STFU。
Randall Cullen
，
This book does a really good job of explaining everything you could possibly want to know about Deutsche Bank， and indeed goes into great detail about how corrupt they are， however it barely touches anything to do with Donald Trump。 Trump shows up here and there within the book， but the book is more about the bank and how it got put in the position to provide Trump money and how it became so corrupt that it was willing to bank with him when no other banks would。 Really excellent reporting from t This book does a really good job of explaining everything you could possibly want to know about Deutsche Bank， and indeed goes into great detail about how corrupt they are， however it barely touches anything to do with Donald Trump。 Trump shows up here and there within the book， but the book is more about the bank and how it got put in the position to provide Trump money and how it became so corrupt that it was willing to bank with him when no other banks would。 Really excellent reporting from the author and he writes in a style that holds interest and doesn't get boring。 Personally， I just wish there had been more with the the relationship between Trump and Deutsche。 。。。more
Tim
，
Excellent story of how investment bankers， greed and poor leadership have destroyed a perfectly good German commercial bank。 Just sad。 And it also includes an important insight into why they give Trump money: Deutschebank has a history of very poor internal controls and lending to criminals and those associated with them。 Enrich's hypothesis that it wasn't that the Russians funneled money to Trump via DB， just that the bank with both seems right to me。 Well written， I did get lost in some the ch Excellent story of how investment bankers， greed and poor leadership have destroyed a perfectly good German commercial bank。 Just sad。 And it also includes an important insight into why they give Trump money: Deutschebank has a history of very poor internal controls and lending to criminals and those associated with them。 Enrich's hypothesis that it wasn't that the Russians funneled money to Trump via DB， just that the bank with both seems right to me。 Well written， I did get lost in some the characters though。 。。。more
Joe Loncarich
，
It is like every financial story。 Powerful people think they are geniuses for being in the right place at the right time， ignore a thousand warning signs， and are very quick to point the finger that it wasn't their fault when things come crashing down。 Still， I can't get enough of these types of stories。 It is like every financial story。 Powerful people think they are geniuses for being in the right place at the right time， ignore a thousand warning signs， and are very quick to point the finger that it wasn't their fault when things come crashing down。 Still， I can't get enough of these types of stories。 。。。more
Cindy
，
I worked for DB for 9 years ， some of the events， characters mentioned happened in my time of working there。 But I find the book chapters， stories are too disconnected， you lost the plot of what exactly the book is about？ Trump。 ？ Db management？ Leadership problem？ Ethic？ Fame and fortune？
Dianne
，
Outstanding 。。。。
Charles Lewis
，
This is exactly what a good business book should be。 In fact， maybe calling it a "business book" is a disservice。 A lot of people find business boring and they last section of a newspaper they'll ever read is the business section。 Even if you feel this way you should read Dark Towers。 This is really about the rise and near fall of Deutsche Bank。 Much of it has to do with their weird and even creepy relationship with Donald Trump - a man who never met a loan he could renege on。 Yet for reasons be This is exactly what a good business book should be。 In fact， maybe calling it a "business book" is a disservice。 A lot of people find business boring and they last section of a newspaper they'll ever read is the business section。 Even if you feel this way you should read Dark Towers。 This is really about the rise and near fall of Deutsche Bank。 Much of it has to do with their weird and even creepy relationship with Donald Trump - a man who never met a loan he could renege on。 Yet for reasons better left。 to the author Deutsche kept feeding him money。 As it turns out Deutsche was in deep in Russia and their Russian office found a way to launder money for suspect Russian businessmen。 Even Eric Trump， the dim witted son of the Donald， acknowledged that much of their money came from Russia。 Reading this book will in part destroy your faith in capitalism。 Most of all this is a real page turner。 How in the world did one trader earn a $100-million bonus for one year's worth of work？ Not much， as it turns out。 。。。more
Irina Ioana
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Absolutely fascinating。Going and closing my account with them this week。From money laundering， with Russians + Kushner， trump， nazis。 Etc。
Elisa Feola
，
Truly jaw dropping。 This is a terribly awesome tale of of Deutsche Bank’s corruption。 The book intertwines history， banking terminology， financial system， and how it all comes together at Deutsche。 So much of it was shocking， but hearing where the evidence came from to justify investigations was unbelievable。 The truth is so shocking- not a chance anyone could have made this up。 I read the audio book which I did spend an unusually long time to finish as I mainly listened to while driving。 ThIs b Truly jaw dropping。 This is a terribly awesome tale of of Deutsche Bank’s corruption。 The book intertwines history， banking terminology， financial system， and how it all comes together at Deutsche。 So much of it was shocking， but hearing where the evidence came from to justify investigations was unbelievable。 The truth is so shocking- not a chance anyone could have made this up。 I read the audio book which I did spend an unusually long time to finish as I mainly listened to while driving。 ThIs book was one of those that I was。a bit sorry to see it end- as the riveting story and the readers deep crunchy yet smooth voice became my companion。 。。。more
Rob Pruden
，
This is a very well written and engaging book on the exceptionally dysfunctional Deutsche Bank and the overall greed within the banking community。 At points it makes the reader lose faith in our financial institutions and in some ways it reads as a murder mystery as bankers lives are being lost left and right。 Enjoyable and informative; highly recomended
Hal
，
A rambling hatchet piece on the big bad bank Deutsche and its nefarious deeds and criminal minds that masquerade as our banking system。 And actually there probably is a lot of truth here。 Deutsche might be the poster boy for bad bank behavior but let's face many banks do the same things。 And the thing is they get away with it usually。 Or at least no one goes to prison。So the book is a never ending compilation of the misdeeds and mayhem that was instrumental in several deaths amongst the bank off A rambling hatchet piece on the big bad bank Deutsche and its nefarious deeds and criminal minds that masquerade as our banking system。 And actually there probably is a lot of truth here。 Deutsche might be the poster boy for bad bank behavior but let's face many banks do the same things。 And the thing is they get away with it usually。 Or at least no one goes to prison。So the book is a never ending compilation of the misdeeds and mayhem that was instrumental in several deaths amongst the bank officials。 Not to mention the billions taken down in bad play derivatives they concocted and pedaled to the unsuspecting。 Then of course there is the Trump tie in。 So they go hand in hand supposedly the corrupt leading the corrupt， except it appears Trump got the better of it; so far at least。 It will be interesting if the Southern District of New York hands down indictments in the near future， stay tuned。 。。。more
Nancy Mills
，
Very interesting account of a good bank gone bad。 The venerable German institution gets swept up into the Wall Street scene， with a lot of greedy wonder boy traders raking in short term profits until the bottom inevitably falls out。 Most of us have a hard time wrapping our minds around derivatives but one fact stands out: they're not for the faint of hard。 Bankers become gamblers。 Suicides happen。 One of the original founders of the investment division， Bill Broeksmit， commits suicide。 Signs poi Very interesting account of a good bank gone bad。 The venerable German institution gets swept up into the Wall Street scene， with a lot of greedy wonder boy traders raking in short term profits until the bottom inevitably falls out。 Most of us have a hard time wrapping our minds around derivatives but one fact stands out: they're not for the faint of hard。 Bankers become gamblers。 Suicides happen。 One of the original founders of the investment division， Bill Broeksmit， commits suicide。 Signs point to his chagrin over an investigation into some funny business at the bank。 Too much detail to go into in a review， but well covered in the book， written by a New York Times journalist who became involved with the late Broeksmit's son Val， a would-be whistle blower。Lots of detail， mostly intriguing， sometimes headache-inducing。 My reason for no more than 3 stars is that to me， this book isn't over。 It seemed to be just wrapped up to get it to press。 I realize this is non-fiction and things don't always wrap up as neatly as one would like， but this leaves us dangling。 An updated edition is needed when at some point。 Definitely worth reading， though， because it's absorbing and offers an interesting look at the insides of an investment bank whose managers have become blinded by greed。Good dirt on Donald Trump， too。 How they kept loaning him money is almost beyond comprehension。 If I had his powers of persuasion I'd be rich too lol。 Great example of a corporation that puts the short term enrichment of its management far above the welfare of its country， customers and shareholders。 Certainly not the only one， as we saw after the Big Bailouts last decade。 Yes， that means you， Bank of America and Merrill Lynch。 。。。more
rosalind
，
good but it bummed me out
David Houghton
，
3。5/5
David
，
The ingredients should have been there for an intriguing exposé on the wrongdoings at Deutsche Bank; a profits-at-all-costs culture that led to money laundering， market manipulation， and ripping off clients， the murky relationship with Donald Trump and Russians， and the personal angle of the family of an employee who committed suicide when it all became too much。 Sadly the end product is oddly clinical， lacking any emphasis， wider social commentary， and detail。 David Enrich seems to have fallen The ingredients should have been there for an intriguing exposé on the wrongdoings at Deutsche Bank; a profits-at-all-costs culture that led to money laundering， market manipulation， and ripping off clients， the murky relationship with Donald Trump and Russians， and the personal angle of the family of an employee who committed suicide when it all became too much。 Sadly the end product is oddly clinical， lacking any emphasis， wider social commentary， and detail。 David Enrich seems to have fallen in the trap of trying to cover everything related to Deutsche， rather than focusing on a specific topic。 It's hard to tell who is the intended audience。 For persons in the banking industry the book is too high-level， skipping the technical details， and ultimately not revealing anything that hasn't already been widely public。 On the other hand it's difficult seeing an average person being interested on reading 400+ pages on the history of a financial institution。 The timing is also not optimal， obviously the idea was the get the book out before the end of the Trump presidency to remain relevant， but due to this the ending is abrupt and feels inconclusive。 。。。more
Yvette
，
This book thoroughly covers how a cocky， fractious， hungry for profits， indifferent to it clients' reputations bank operated worldwide。 Added to this， in a less extent， its undeniable ties with one of its most problematic clients: Donald Trump- a president who once recognized that there was nothing stopping him from mining the potent seams of race and ethnicity for political advantages。 This turned out to be a big headache for Deutsche， and I was baffled and speechless as to how and why Deutsche This book thoroughly covers how a cocky， fractious， hungry for profits， indifferent to it clients' reputations bank operated worldwide。 Added to this， in a less extent， its undeniable ties with one of its most problematic clients: Donald Trump- a president who once recognized that there was nothing stopping him from mining the potent seams of race and ethnicity for political advantages。 This turned out to be a big headache for Deutsche， and I was baffled and speechless as to how and why Deutsche continuously borrowed money。 When executives realized this was going to be a bigger problem， it was too late: an incoming American president was deep in hock to a foreign institution。 At this time， Deutsche was facing multiple federal investigations。 This part of the book was incredibly interesting！ Enrich exposed all the corruption， which for many years went unpunished。 The significant deficiencies in its risk management and its compliance with anti- laundering laws were practically inexistent。 I was grossed out to be honest。 I was moved specifically by how Deutsche basically destroyed Paschi Bank in Siena， the oldest bank in the world- and more so， how this lead to a series of bankers suicides。 The author covered in extensive detail not just the early beginnings of Deutsche， but also the Ackermann and Jain's eras， which had become parables for the perils of growing too fast， pursuing profits above else， not caring about clients' integrity， and not taking time to integrate businesses （in my opinion Ackermann was the worst and most disgusting banker ever）。 Moreover， I was deeply concerned as to how inside the bank a hundred different internal technology systems operated with no interaction whatsoever。 Clearly it was impossible at one point to clear the mess and it was just a matter of time before the domino started falling。 A particular highlight was how Deutsche （is？ was？） very racist。 I wonder if it is still a german thing， as it is mentioned in the book that the board executives back in Germany were still very strict not just with a hierarchic system but also their preference for a true German （preferably white）。 It was very unnerving to read also how Deutsche's anti-money laundering team reached a breaking point when they kept raising red flags and these were ignored。 But， the saddest part of the book was no doubt was the case of Bill Broeksmit， a derivatives trader with a risk manager’s nose for spotting financial dangers。 A victim of Deutsche's mess。 He committed suicide in 2014。 Even though I was so annoyed by his immature drug addict son Val， he was the one who provided documents and email communications to several media outlets。 These offered just a tiny glimpse at the deep mess， and I hope Deutsche collapses soon and pays for what they have done， rip off clients， shady business deals with Russians and Middle eastern banks， and just think they can get away with it。 。。。more
Maureen Sepulveda
，
A fascinating， well-written page turner。 The author exposes the greed and profits at all costs of Deutche Bank。 Honestly， I felt like I was reading a fast paced thriller movie script at times， that’s how this book flows。 A really in-depth expose of how corrupt and greedy some people become。
Eric
，
Really about 3。5 stars。 A very interesting read but the second half devolves a bit and spends far too much time on the background and day to day actions of Val。 Other than that a very telling expose of Deutsche and its myriad of misdeeds。
MM Suarez
，
Incredible， you just can't make this stuff up！ Incredible， you just can't make this stuff up！ 。。。more
Lew
，
A well written and entertaining story of the history of Deutsche Bank。 One fact that I thought was no longer prevalent in banking （last seen during the great depression） is suicide amongst bank executives。 I was shocked。The only complaint that I have is the marketing of the book and the contents。 Donald Trump is touted right up there in the subtitle。 I expected him to be more prominent in the story。 His and his families mentions could have been handled as footnotes for all of their contributions A well written and entertaining story of the history of Deutsche Bank。 One fact that I thought was no longer prevalent in banking （last seen during the great depression） is suicide amongst bank executives。 I was shocked。The only complaint that I have is the marketing of the book and the contents。 Donald Trump is touted right up there in the subtitle。 I expected him to be more prominent in the story。 His and his families mentions could have been handled as footnotes for all of their contributions to the story 。。。more
Andy Lee
，
Greed Greed Greed
Tim Peterson
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