More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of the New Elite
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- Create Date：2021-05-04 11:53:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Sebastian Mallaby
- ISBN：1408809753
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Summary
Wealthy， powerful and potentially dangerous， hedge fund moguls have become the 'It Boys' of 21st-century capitalism。 Based on unprecendented access to the industry， including 300 hours of interviews and binders of internal documents， 'More Money Than God' provides an authoritative history of hedge funds。
Reviews
George Tharp
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Pretty good。 Great history of hedge funds and wall street。 Pretty entertaining， and learned quite a bit。
Amaan Pirani
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+ Mallaby makes complicated financial concepts accessible; some of the stories in the book are interesting and I learned at least， some things， reading this book- that said， the book's tropes get a bit repetitive （i。e。 hedge fund generates insane alpha for a few years， eventually underestimates risk; other predatory hfs come in， short the flailing hfs positions to a degree where the flailing hfs excessive leverage causes it to go under） - the author's defense of hfs wasn't super compelling; most + Mallaby makes complicated financial concepts accessible; some of the stories in the book are interesting and I learned at least， some things， reading this book- that said， the book's tropes get a bit repetitive （i。e。 hedge fund generates insane alpha for a few years， eventually underestimates risk; other predatory hfs come in， short the flailing hfs positions to a degree where the flailing hfs excessive leverage causes it to go under） - the author's defense of hfs wasn't super compelling; most of his arguments felt like stretches; just because investment banks （which are too big to fail） taking on 30x debt:equity ratios is more dangerous than hfs levering at such rates， doesn't mean hfs don't also need significant regulation; ultimately hfs are institutions that exacerbate wealth inequality， whose exorbitant salaries distract the most educated in our society from solving bigger problems 。。。more
Nader Alfie
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Historical narrative focusing on the salient figures （e。g。， Alfred Jones， George Soros， Paul Tudor Jones） and entities （e。g。， LTCM） that played an important role in the history of hedge funds。
Atanu Basak
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Great articulation of the hedge fund history in USA。
Joonas Viitanen
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Edellinen lukemani Mallabyn teos （Alan Greenspanistä） saattoi paikoitellen lipsahtaa kuivan jaarittelun puolelle， mutta tässä Mallaby kirjoittaa finanssimarkkinoista yhtä selkeästi ja viihdyttävästi kuin Michael Lewis。 Hedgerahastojen historia on kattava mutta tiivis， strategioita ja termistöä avataan vain rajoitetusti sen ollessa välttämätöntä ja eri aikakausien oppeihin ja Mallabyn johtopäätöksiin palataan tarpeeksi， jotta "tarina" tuntuu johdonmukaiselta。Kirjan sanoma on melko erilainen kuin Edellinen lukemani Mallabyn teos （Alan Greenspanistä） saattoi paikoitellen lipsahtaa kuivan jaarittelun puolelle， mutta tässä Mallaby kirjoittaa finanssimarkkinoista yhtä selkeästi ja viihdyttävästi kuin Michael Lewis。 Hedgerahastojen historia on kattava mutta tiivis， strategioita ja termistöä avataan vain rajoitetusti sen ollessa välttämätöntä ja eri aikakausien oppeihin ja Mallabyn johtopäätöksiin palataan tarpeeksi， jotta "tarina" tuntuu johdonmukaiselta。Kirjan sanoma on melko erilainen kuin uskoin sen lukemisen aloittaessani olevan。 Odotin edes hieman The Big Short tyylistä tarinaa ahneudesta ja varoittavista esimerkeistä mutta Mallaby sen sijaan korostaa hedgerahastojen roolia vakauttavina ja hyvin toimivina instituutioina。 Tästä on argumentit kuultuaan hankala olla eri mieltä; rahaston kaatuessa liikaa riskiä ottaneet omistajat/sijoittajat kärsivät tappioita （kuten kuuluukin） mutta tuho ei todennäköisesti leviä muuhun finanssijärjestelmään， eikä hedgerahastojen ajoittainen ylilyönti ole johtanut verorahoja syöneisiin pelastuksiin （kuten monien muiden rahalaitosten）。 Ja tämä kaikki tapahtuu hyvin vähäisen valvonnan seurauksena koska riskit otetaan tosissaan （"skin in the game" kuten Nassim Taleb kehuisi） eikä skaala ole sama kuin esim。 investointipankeilla。Tämän lisäksi ne vielä monilla mittareilla tuottavat paremmin kuin vertailtavat rahastot （PE， mutual fundit jne） vielä kulujenkin jälkeen， osin pienemmän koon ja joustavuuden ansiosta samalla tasoittaen markkinoiden hintaeroja ja likviditeettiongelmia， sillä hedgerahastojen tuotto perustuu usein juuri näiden korjaamiseen tuottoa keräten。 Lopputulemana siis opettavainen ja viihdyttävä lukukokemus jolle iso suositus！ 。。。more
iTZKooPA
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It's very well researched。 I feel like if Mallaby used more visuals and timelines the book could be substantially shorter while delivery the minutia in a more digestible way。 In addition， I felt the book for very repetitive。 Smart people locate inefficiencies in various markets and pounce then onto the next one。 It's very well researched。 I feel like if Mallaby used more visuals and timelines the book could be substantially shorter while delivery the minutia in a more digestible way。 In addition， I felt the book for very repetitive。 Smart people locate inefficiencies in various markets and pounce then onto the next one。 。。。more
Lisa Wang
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Got a bit repetitive at times and author is kind of a hedge fund apologist but still an even keeled analysis and history of hedge funds。 Enjoyable。
Sam Richter
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The definitive history of hedge funds， each chapter follows a different character and era。 The chapters on Soros were enlightening to me， and had a big effect on how I think about investing。 Necessary reading for financial and economic history。
Pooja
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This is a must-read。 Lessons about how the markets work written by a master storyteller。 The author weaves stories of big personalities with deep dives into fundamental investing and technical trading， making for a fascinating lesson in the history of financial markets。 The one central theme is that unlike big banks， hedge funds never needed government bailouts - Sebastian Mallaby takes this argument to some extreme lengths。
Rebecca Yuan
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Historical overview of how hedge funds came to be
Totol BookhoarderIV
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This gentleman thinks "Gamestoppers" are worse than the insurrectionists of Capitol Hill on January 6th。 Really dude？ https://www。washingtonpost。com/opinio。。。 This gentleman thinks "Gamestoppers" are worse than the insurrectionists of Capitol Hill on January 6th。 Really dude？ https://www。washingtonpost。com/opinio。。。 。。。more
Junhui
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A storybook about hedge funds。 Full of risk， greed， and Wall Street genius。
Larkkonen
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Interesting topic， sometimes felt a bit boring。 Personally， interested in finance so YMMV。
Edison Giang
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This book did not prepare me for the GME， AMC， etc。 turnaround。
Vivek Ramaswami
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Very informative and comprehensive narrative of the history and of the evolution of hedge funds， from AW Jones in the late 1940s all the way through the three hedge fund titans of the 1980s/1990s （Steinhardt， Soros， and Robertson） to John Paulson during the mortgage crisis。 While I felt the book was very educational and full of interesting stories， I wasn't always engaged and often felt overwhelmed by the onslaught of dense factoids。 But if you're looking to learn more about the hedge fund indus Very informative and comprehensive narrative of the history and of the evolution of hedge funds， from AW Jones in the late 1940s all the way through the three hedge fund titans of the 1980s/1990s （Steinhardt， Soros， and Robertson） to John Paulson during the mortgage crisis。 While I felt the book was very educational and full of interesting stories， I wasn't always engaged and often felt overwhelmed by the onslaught of dense factoids。 But if you're looking to learn more about the hedge fund industry and how it evolved over several decades， it is a good read。 。。。more
Tiavii Rakoto
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Best book on the history of hedge funds。 period。
Ethan Lambert
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Best book on High Finance。 Both Informative & Interesting。
Matt DosSantos DiSorbo
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Refreshingly positive take on financial services。 A valuable account of George Soros， who remains an underrated world figure。
Manish Gupta
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An absolutely excellent read on the fascinating history of hedge funds。 Major financial events of the past few decades have been intricately interwoven into the narrative and how the hedge funds benefited or went bust from these events makes for a very interesting read。 The double edged sword of leverage coupled with a need to generate outsized profits by taking risks in illiquid/esoteric instruments which ultimately led to either outsized profits or a tendency to go belly up is told through var An absolutely excellent read on the fascinating history of hedge funds。 Major financial events of the past few decades have been intricately interwoven into the narrative and how the hedge funds benefited or went bust from these events makes for a very interesting read。 The double edged sword of leverage coupled with a need to generate outsized profits by taking risks in illiquid/esoteric instruments which ultimately led to either outsized profits or a tendency to go belly up is told through various events。 All the major events like the Black Monday， UK Currency peg， Bond crisis， Asian currency crisis， DotCom bust， GFC and the impact that they have had on the hedge funds and the industry is well captured。 The bust of LTCM， Bear， Lehmann and others provide interesting insights into the times。 The fall of Amaranth was undoubtedly the most stupid one。 On the other hand the success of Soros， Druckenmiller， AWJones， Farallon， Robertson and others in generating alpha over decades is highly inspiring。However at the heart of the book is the question about the nature of hedge funds。 Are these risk taking highly leveraged beasts which can bring down financial markets and in some cases entire countries。 How do they compare with the Big Banks。 Should hedge funds be regulated。 What effect regulation has on financial institutions。 All of these questions have been dealt in detail throughout and provides the reader with great insights into the financial world。Highly recommended for anybody with interest in financial markets。 。。。more
Peter Deegan
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+ relatively understandable （complex ideas explained well）， not as ideologically pure as I expected， wasn't charged or finger-pointy， explores different framings， mind-blowing - dramatic at times， quotes journalists a lot， overly simplistic at times + relatively understandable （complex ideas explained well）， not as ideologically pure as I expected， wasn't charged or finger-pointy， explores different framings， mind-blowing - dramatic at times， quotes journalists a lot， overly simplistic at times 。。。more
Hqwxyz
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喜欢美剧《亿万》的人不可错过此书。
Ankush
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Very broad overview of the hedge fund industry。 Entrancing tales of the titans of the industry， providing valuable insights into their though processes。
Eric
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An interesting read with great detailed background on many financial events。 It did leave me feeling that all financial markets are somewhat rigged by unequal information access， which is a sad realization。 And it was amazing to see how only one hedge fund - looking at you Jim Simons - managed to stay afloat and not hemorrhage money in the end。
Samuel Atta-Amponsah
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The reason that I wanted to read More Money Than God is that I heard about it from Tim Ferriss。 As you’ve probably realized by now， I’m also obsessed with finance and financial independence。 I’m also interested in economics and how society works around economics。I feel like many people don’t know about this book。 I would recommend it to anyone in a business school or going to school for finance。 As you’ll read in this book， many of these hedge funds are shaping the way society works。 They are al The reason that I wanted to read More Money Than God is that I heard about it from Tim Ferriss。 As you’ve probably realized by now， I’m also obsessed with finance and financial independence。 I’m also interested in economics and how society works around economics。I feel like many people don’t know about this book。 I would recommend it to anyone in a business school or going to school for finance。 As you’ll read in this book， many of these hedge funds are shaping the way society works。 They are also independent of the government， so they can act against or upon the government in certain situations。 Institutions like banks can’t do this as easily。 It’s also good to know how our banks are run and can be impacted by hedge funds。It took me a while to get the gist of how this book was being written。 It is a long book。 The author writes about different hedge fund managers starting with A。W。 Jones and then moves onto Michael Steinhardt and George Soros。 Everyone after that is shown to be influenced by these hedge fund managers。 Paul Tudor Jones and Julian Robertson are also central figures throughout this book。Some of the people and their funds in this book:Julian Robertson – TigerGeorge Soros – Quantum FundStanley Druckenmiller – Quantum Fund and Duquesne CapitalPaul Tudor Jones – Tudor Investment CorporationJim Chanos – Kynikos Associates。D。E。 Shaw - D。E。Shaw capitalKen Griffin – CitadelMike Mendelson – AQRMichael Litt – Frontpoint PartnersJohn Paulson – Paulson & CompanyKyle Bass – Hayman CapitalNicholas M。 Maounis – Amaranth AdvisorsShould You Read This Book？This book is great for anyone thinking about going into finance as a career。 Maybe you just want to understand how our financial markets work。 Either way， this book is great to see how financial markets work and how interconnected our systems are。It also opens up your eyes to how much power hedge funds have and are going to have on our lives in the future。Should Hedge Funds Be RegulatedA central theme in this book is whether or not hedge funds should be regulated。 Many hedge funds have failed over the years。 However， it is the author’s content that many have failed and didn’t shock the market。 However， this can change in the future depending on how big hedge funds get and how much they leverage。Hedge funds also change what they trade。 The more exotic trades they get into the more impact they can have on the economy if their counterparties don’t understand the trade。Psychology In TradingBy most measures， people that start hedge funds are seen as some of the most successful people。 However， many of the people get to the top of the world and implode。 Why is this？ They don’t see their blindspots and think that markets are predictable。 They don’t understand human nature and that humans can change very quickly and overreact。 Humans also think similarly so thinking that you are smarter than everyone doesn’t typically work in the markets。 Eventually， people get wind of what you are doing and copy your trades。It is important to have some humility in the hedge fund world and reassess your philosophies frequently。 You should also have confidence。 You should assess your risk and leverage on a frequent basis。 Leverage is what creates asset bubbles。Big TradesDruckenmiller and Soros shorting the Pound Sterling in 1992 making them over $1 billion。Druckenmiller and Soros shorting the Thai Bhat。Deleveraging of 1994 hurt a lot of hedge funds。 Resulted from Greenspan raising interest rates。John Paulson betting against subprime mortgages。Dotcom bubble made Julian Robertson and Stanley Druckenmiller retire。What I’m Reading Because Of This BookI’m going to read a couple of books after this book。I’m going to learn more about the Federal Reserve。 It is apparent after reading this book that central banks around the world shape our economy。 They are also easily influenced by outside forces。 I want to understand more about this system。 I also think it is the government institutions that we don’t elect that do the most harm to our system。 There is no one to hold them accountable。 They are the most liable to be impacted by industry。I’m going to read the Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman。 I’ve already read his book about Jim Simons， but I want to read his book about John Paulson as well。Chapter NotesThe Top CatThe top cat chapter is about Julian Robertson。 He founded the Tiger fund。 His strategy was to find companies that were about to be taken over and trade them。 He ran his hedge fund like a special forces unit。 The book doesn’t speak so much about Jones as it does his followers。 By 2008 there were 6 disciples from the Tiger fund with their own funds。Rock and RollThis Chapter is about Paul Tudor Jones。 He started Tudor Investment Corporation in 1983。Tudor Jones was well known for mentally picturing what the market might do on any given day。 This way he was prepared for whatever might happen。 He predicted the 1987 crash and sold futures and bought bonds ahead of time。He also predicted the fall in Japanese markets in 1990 because they required their fund managers to return 8% a year。 When the market went down， they fled to bonds。 Jones predicted this and traded it by shorting Japanese stocks。Paul Tudor Jones is featured many other times in the rest of this book。White WednesdayThis chapter is about Stanley Druckenmiller。 Druckenmiller was George Soros’ protege。 He grew the assets in Quantum fund。 This chapter is about how he and George Soro shorted the Sterling and made over a billion dollars。 This is where both of them got a ton of notoriety。Hurricane GreenspanThis book is about Fed Chairman Greenspan and his impact on hedge funds。 Greenspan made short term interest rates cheap。This allowed a lot of hedge funds to borrow short and trade long on bonds。 This became a crowded trade。 Then Greenspan raised interest rates and this created a ripple throughout the global economy。 Druckenmiller lost almost a billion dollars shorting the yen because of Greenspan’s interest rate change。 Insurance companies also lost a lot of money on this trade。 They called it Hurricane Greenspan because they lost more money than they did for a catastrophic hurricane。Steinhardt lost a billion in this crowded trade as well。 He lost the most during this time period。Askin hedge fund failed during this time frame because they tried to find out which mortgages were going to be prepaid first。 Well， it turns out when interest rates go up， people don’t want to pay off their mortgage。 Their fund became obsolete。Soros V SorosThis chapter is about the trades of Soros and Druckenmiller。 They bet huge against the Thai currency and made a lot of money。 They lost a lot of money in Russia and Indonesia though。Soros lent money to Russia because he wanted to be a global statesman。 Russia defaulted on its debt and created a global crisis。Soros also bet on Indonesia because he believes in them。 They lost almost a billion dollars betting on Indonesia。The Enemy Is UsThis chapter is about Long Term Capital Management。 They were founded in 1994。 LTCM was focused on bond trading。They were one of the first hedge funds to calculate the amount of risk in their portfolio。 They were highly leveraged。 Their models showed that markets tended to have low volatility over the long term and that is what they bet on。 Many people heard about how sophisticated they were and copied their trades。 When the market turned against them in 1997 they lost 44% of their capital。 It took 11 banks to raised $3。625 billion to save LTCM。 Their assets were liquidated and distributed to creditors。A lesson to learn from LTCM is that in order to avoid failure you shouldn’t be leveraged like crazy。 You should also not be in all illiquid investments。 This makes it hard for you to raise capital。Hedge Fund Impact on SocietyHedge funds have a huge impact on society today。 They are much large than they used to be and can influence the economy。 This is evidenced by the trades of George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller。 They caused multiple currencies to collapse。 They can impact society with their trades and with their influence on the political structure。 They can also influence it because of their independence and lack of oversight。 I didn’t think about how much influence hedge funds had on society before this book。 They can multiply their influence with leverage。If politicians want to change the amount of influence they have， they should not allow them to leverage up more than 2 times capital。Hedge funds also have a lot of influence on politicians and policymakers。 Soros was able to influence the international monetary fund and high-level politicians。 Hedge funds were also able to influence large banks and Federal Reserve Chairman。 It is scary to think that so much power is held in the hands of a few。 When you have more money than god， I guess anything is possible though。The Dot Com DoubleThis chapter is about the dot come bubble。 The tiger fund was about investing in value and not momentum。 They lost a lot of investors because of this。 They went from managing 21 billion to 9。5 billion in a year。 Robertson closed the Tiger fund right before the bubble burst。Druckenmiller also didn’t believe in the valuations of tech companies， but he bought in anyway。 He eventually sold and bought back in again。 Then the bubble burst in 2000。 After the burst in 2000 Druckenmiller retired from the Quantum fund。 He eventually started his own firm after the market went up again。The Yale MenThis chapter discusses the growth of college endowments in the hedge fund industry。 Hedge funds would not be as big as they are without college endowments。 Yale was the first college to invest in hedge funds。 By 2009， half the money in hedge funds was from institutions。This chapter is mainly about Tom Steyer and his fund Farallon which was founded in 1985。 Yale invested in his fund。 Farallon was what is called an event-driven fund。 Other hedge funds were run on intuition。 Event-driven funds were run based on events like a merger or bankruptcy。 These events had powerpoints that endowments liked。 Steyer was also a financially conservative guy which appealed to Yale。 Between 1990 and 1997， Steyer did not have a down year。The Code BreakersThis chapter is about quant funds。 It mainly shows how Jim Simons grew Renaissance Technologies to be the best hedge fund in history。He was better than other quant funds because he hired cryptographers and voice translation programmers。 They were used to sifting through information to unearth coded information。Other funds hired financial experts。Premonitions of a CrisisThis chapter is mainly about Citadel and other multistrategy hedge funds。 The author highlights what Citadel did by going through the story of another hedge fund， Amaranth。 Amaranth put its faith into a young energy trader who got lucky。 He made the firm 2 billion on a natural gas trade that went up after Hurrican Katrina and Hurricane Rita。 However， the trade turned against them and they lost half their capital。 Citadel offered to step in and eventually bought half the company。 This highlights how Citadel operated。 They would try to buy out other hedge funds once their portfolios were almost worthless。Riding The StormThis chapter is my favorite chapter。 It highlights a few hedge funds that made money off the financial crisis。 The most notable is John Paulson。 He bought credit default swaps on subprime mortgages。 He netted 1。25 billion in one single trade。How Could They Do ThisThis chapter is about the financial crisis。 This highlights a little bit about Jim Chanos and his short selling。This chapter also discusses the collapses of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers。 The SEC disallowed short selling of financial institutions that put hedge funds in a bind。 Shows how random regulation can mess up the markets。 。。。more
Robert
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This book is an amazing look at the hedge fund industry。 It shows you how much influence the hedge fund world has over the world。 The main theme of the book is whether or not to regulate hedge funds。 Yes hedge funds do have a lot of influence over the world， but not as much as people think。 Read this book and form your own opinion。 Additionally， if you want to find out why George Soros is such a controversial figure， then read this book。
Akshat Raj
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Detailed， balanced and well written account of hedge funds past， present and， where they stand in the financial system。
Charlie
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Prior to this read， I think I was pretty firmly in the camp of hedge fund returns being driven by luck rather than skill。 Mallaby hasn't completely flipped me on this one， but I'm much closer to equilibrium now。 Very interesting read about the history of the alternative investment that I've primarily been exposed to only from an academic standpoint。 I enjoyed learning about some of the major players and how the industry reacted to each crisis。 Mallaby makes a compelling case for the value-add of Prior to this read， I think I was pretty firmly in the camp of hedge fund returns being driven by luck rather than skill。 Mallaby hasn't completely flipped me on this one， but I'm much closer to equilibrium now。 Very interesting read about the history of the alternative investment that I've primarily been exposed to only from an academic standpoint。 I enjoyed learning about some of the major players and how the industry reacted to each crisis。 Mallaby makes a compelling case for the value-add of hedge funds。On a side note， are hedge fund managers constantly on vacation？ It seemed like every crisis included a manager rushing back to the office after being away。 。。。more
Gauri A
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Probably one of the best chronicles of the go go days of hedge funds and the big 3 - Robertson ， Soros and Steinhardt。 A must read for anyone in capital markets
Vasco
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The bad: not much。 Maybe a bit long， but justified by the level of detail and quality of reporting。The good: a comprehensive chronicle of the hedge fund industry， from inception to growth and massification。 All relevant milestones from Soros breaking the bank of England to LTCM'S demise and the 2008 crisis are dissected with an extreme level of detail， exploring not just the role of hedge funds but other relayed players in the industry， such as naturally the major investment banks and more。 Exce The bad: not much。 Maybe a bit long， but justified by the level of detail and quality of reporting。The good: a comprehensive chronicle of the hedge fund industry， from inception to growth and massification。 All relevant milestones from Soros breaking the bank of England to LTCM'S demise and the 2008 crisis are dissected with an extreme level of detail， exploring not just the role of hedge funds but other relayed players in the industry， such as naturally the major investment banks and more。 Excellent read， to repeat。 。。。more
Emmanuel-francis
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