Separating Fools From Their Money

What do Michael Milken and Martha Stewart have in common? What was the most outrageous party thrown by a financial baron of the twentieth century? Which US war hero president became party to, and victim of, an unabashed con man known as the Napoleon of Wall Street? These questions and more are discussed in Separating Fools from Their Money. The authors trace the history of financial scandals beginning with young republic days through the Enron/WorldCom debacle of modern times. Informative and entertaining, this book reveals human nature in all of its dubious shades of grey. It also exposes themes common to all financial scandals, which remain astonishingly unchanged over time?greed, hubris, media connections, self-interested politicians, and booms-gone-bust, to name a few. This second edition features a new preface and introduction, plus three new chapters, which address the financial panic of 2008, post-panic scandals, and the "princes of Ponzi." This book's accessible writing will interest the casual business reader as well as the seasoned investor.

What do Michael Milken and Martha Stewart have in common? (Answer: Both became public scapegoats for an outrageous era of greed and excess.) What was the most outrageous party thrown by a financial baron of the twentieth century? (Answer: Tough call, but either Michael Milken's Predators Ball in 1985, or Dennis Kozlowski's Sardinian birthday bash in 2001, with its vodka-spouting sculpture.) Which U.S. war hero president became party to, and victim of, an unabashed con man known as the Napoleon of Wall Street? (Answer: Ulysses S. Grant, but it's a long story.) These questions and more are discussed in Scott MacDonald and Jane Hughes' Separating Fools from Their Money. The authors trace the history of financial scandals from the early days of the young republic through the Enron/WorldCom debacle of modern times. A host of colorful characters inhabit the pages of this history, revealing human nature in all of its dubious shades of gray. At the same time, the book exposes themes common to all financial scandals, which remain astonishingly unchanged over more than two centuries--greed, hubris, media connections, self-interested politicians, and booms-gone-bust, to name a few. Informative and entertaining, Separating Fools should engage the interest of investors and casual business readers, as well as economists interested in supplemental reading for their students. A new introduction focuses on trends since publication of the original, with a postscript on the financial panic of 2008.

Can crime make our world safer? Crimes are the worst of humanity’s wrongs but, oddly, they sometimes “trigger” improvement in our lives. Crimes That Changed Our World explores some of the most important trigger cases of the past century, revealing much about how change comes to our modern world. The exact nature of the crime-outrage-reform dynamic can take many forms, and Paul and Sarah Robinson explore those differences in the cases they present. Each case is in some ways unique but there are repeating patterns that can offer important insights about what produces change and how in the future we might best manage it. Sometimes reform comes as a society wrestles with a new and intolerable problem. Sometimes it comes because an old problem from which we have long suffered suddenly has an apparent solution provided by technology or some other social or economic advance. Or, sometimes the engine of reform kicks into gear simply because we decide as a society that we are no longer willing to tolerate a long-standing problem and are now willing to do something about it. As the amazing and often touching stories that the Robinsons present make clear, the path of progress is not just a long series of course corrections; sometimes it is a quick turn or an unexpected lurch. In a flash we can suddenly feel different about present circumstances, seeing a need for change and can often, just as suddenly, do something about it. Every trigger crime that appears in Crimes That Changed Our World highlights a societal problem that America has chosen to deal with, each in a unique way. But what these extraordinary, and sometime unexpected, cases have in common is that all of them describe crimes that changed our world.

An exclusive collection—the first-ever gathering of rogues from the gaslight era, including Arsène Lupin, the inspiration for the new Netflix series Lupin, starring Omar Sy collected here for the first time: the best crime fiction from the gaslight era. All the legendary thieves are present-Arsène Lupin and A. J. Raffles, Colonel Clay and Simon Carne, Romney Pringle, Get Rich Quick Wallingford, and the Infallible Godahl-burgling London and Paris, conning New York and Ostend, laughing all the way to the bank. Also featured are stories by distinguished writers from outside the mystery and detective genres, including Sinclair Lewis, Arnold Bennett, H. G. Wells, and William Hope Hodgson.

McClean argues that a collective move towards stewardship within the financial industry is necessary to restore ethical behaviour and public confidence. Drawing on practical examples and offering new policy recommendations, this unique philosophical study paints a picture of what a truly ethical trading culture of the future might look like.

What do Michael Milken and Martha Stewart have in common? (Answer: Both became public scapegoats for an outrageous era of greed and excess.) What was the most outrageous party thrown by a financial baron of the twentieth century? (Answer: Tough call, but either Michael Milken's Predators Ball in 1985, or Dennis Kozlowski's Sardinian birthday bash in 2001, with its vodka-spouting sculpture.) Which U.S. war hero president became party to, and victim of, an unabashed con man known as the Napoleon of Wall Street? (Answer: Ulysses S. Grant, but it's a long story.) These questions and more are discussed in Scott MacDonald and Jane Hughes' Separating Fools from Their Money. The authors trace the history of financial scandals from the early days of the young republic through the Enron/WorldCom debacle of modern times. A host of colorful characters inhabit the pages of this history, revealing human nature in all of its dubious shades of gray. At the same time, the book exposes themes common to all financial scandals, which remain astonishingly unchanged over more than two centuries--greed, hubris, media connections, self-interested politicians, and booms-gone-bust, to name a few. Informative and entertaining, Separating Fools should engage the interest of investors and casual business readers, as well as economists interested in supplemental reading for their students.

The recent economic crisis further underscores the importance of ethics, which is why finance professionals will turn to this authoritative text. It provides them with an applied and practical understanding. Critical thinking questions offer more thought provoking exercises to get them to learn the material. Related cases in the chapters help spark more thoughtful analysis of the issues that are raised. Numerous projects show how to apply investment theory and analysis as well as integrate ethical considerations. Appendices are also included in relevant chapters that review basics in investments and accounting. This material will help finance professionals examine the ethical practices of the companies and organisations they recommend.