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  • The World for Sale

  • Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
  • Written by: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
  • Narrated by: John Sackville
  • Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (62 ratings)

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The World for Sale

Written by: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
Narrated by: John Sackville
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

Meet the traders who supply the world with oil, metal and food - no matter how corrupt, war-torn or famine-stricken the source.

The modern world is built on commodities - from the oil that fuels our cars to the metals that power our smartphones. 

We rarely stop to consider where they come from. But we should.

In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. 

It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres.

And it is the story of how some traders acquired untold political power, right under the noses of Western regulators and politicians - helping Saddam Hussein to sell his oil, fuelling the Libyan rebel army during the Arab Spring and funnelling cash to Vladimir Putin's Kremlin in spite of strict sanctions.

The result is an eye-opening tour through the wildest frontiers of the global economy, as well as a revelatory guide to how capitalism really works. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Javier Blas and Jack Farchy (P)2021 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"The definitive, eye-opening story of the most powerful and secretive traders in the world." (Bradley Hope, co-author of Billion Dollar Whale)

"Blas and Farchy shine light on what's long been the financial markets' darkest corner - the crucial, yet underappreciated, role commodity traders play in global finance and geopolitics.... The World for Sale is a fascinating, eye-opening read." (Gregory Zuckerman, author of The Man Who Solved the Market)

"Javier Blas and Jack Farchy deftly peel back the curtain on the amoral swashbucklers of capitalism who trade in commodities.... The World for Sale is a gripping account of how they achieved their stranglehold over the world economy, and their troubling influence on global politics." (Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store)

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Great insights

Interesting history and insights. Narrator does a great job. Easy to listen to. Nice flow

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The most interesting book this year

This book was fantastic. Great narration, and an amazing story. Having negotiated projects with several of these companies in the past I was able to make more sense of the positions previously taken by those company's after have listened to this audiobook. The story is absolutely compelling and many people will be temped to "binge-listen" to the entire audiobook in a single session. Well done - truly exceptional....

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Great book

An excellent history of a very interesting industry. Tip top all around - very enjoyable, and highly recommend.

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Very interesting stories about commodity traders

Work for a mining company that sells to one of the companies mentioned and found it very interesting, couldn’t stop listening.

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  • Ian
  • 2023-03-14

Excellent

An industry I never knew existed, powerful and influential. Definitely worth reading. good insight t

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Good but gets redundant rather quickly

This book has some great info. Well researched. In the end, I stopped listening around 75% of the book. Becomes repetitive quite quickly. Good book nonetheless.

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Love this book

Amazing collection of stories. I couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook. Very informative. Well done. Great narration. Highly recommend.

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Compelling insight into markets

This is an easy to understand economics book that provides valuable historical and contemporary insights into commodities markets.

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