''The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History'' is a debut non-fiction book by American journalist

Gregory Zuckerman Gregory S. Zuckerman (born September 7, 1966) is a special writer at ''The Wall Street Journal'' and a non-fiction author. Education and family Gregory Zuckerman grew up in Rhode Island and was graduated from Brandeis University, magna cum laude ...

. The book was released on November 3, 2009 by

Crown Business The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...

. The book investigates the reasons and consequences of the

subprime mortgage crisis The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It was triggered by a large decline ...

and the role that hedge fund manager

John Paulson John Alfred Paulson (born December 14, 1955) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He leads Paulson & Co., a New York-based investment management firm he founded in 1994. He has been called "one of the most prominent names in high fina ...

played in those events.

Overview

In 2006, John Paulson organized Paulson Credit Opportunity Fund that bet against bonds backed by subprime mortgages using

credit default swap A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial swap agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of a debt default (by the debtor) or other credit event. That is, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer against som ...

s. Paulson "shot to fame and fortune" when his investment strategies paid off during the subprime housing market crash. His bet against the subprime mortgage bubble has been called "the greatest trade ever" by Gregory Zuckerman. Paulson's involvement in the

Abacus-2007AC1 Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Hong ...

deals resulted in Goldman Sachs paying a $550 million penalty, the largest ever paid by a Wall Street firm.

Recognition

''The Greatest Trade Ever'' became a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' best-seller and has since been translated into nine languages.

Reception

Heather Stewart of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' commented "Some of the best books about Wall Street – Michael Lewis's ''

Liar's Poker ''Liar's Poker'' is a non-fiction, semi-autobiographical book by Michael Lewis describing the author's experiences as a bond salesman on Wall Street during the late 1980s. First published in 1989, it is considered one of the books that defined ...

'', and

Roger Lowenstein Roger Lowenstein (born 1954) is an American financial journalist and writer. He graduated from Cornell University and reported for ''The Wall Street Journal'' for more than a decade, including two years writing its '' Heard on the Street'' column, ...

's ''

When Genius Failed ''When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management'' is a book by Roger Lowenstein published by Random House on October 9, 2000. The book puts on an unauthorized account of the creation, early success, abrupt collapse, and ...

'', for example – are packed with larger-than-life characters whom we end up either rooting for or loathing. Admittedly, Zuckerman's subjects offer him scant material, but the less-than-thrilling personal tales he recounts make this book better as a telling exposition of one aspect of the financial crisis than a gripping general read." Ben Higgins of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' stated "The book mentions the moral question hanging over these deals a few times, but that's not really what Zuckerman, a Wall Street Journal staffer, is interested in. He's enthralled by the magnitude of markets, financial wizardy, and the personalities who did their homework and held their nerve."

References

External links

Profile on Google Books
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Trade Ever Works about the subprime mortgage crisis 2009 non-fiction books Books about companies Books about traders Finance books

Overview

Recognition

Reception

See also

References

External links