The World for Sale

As a physical commodity trader, I loved it.

I have the paperback which is 328 pages not including acknowledgements and footnotes. If you're interested in the global trade in oil, minerals and grains, this book gives an excellent introduction, with the principal focus on oil. The Introduction is entitled "The Last Swashbucklers" and the Conclusion is entitled "A Lot of Skeletons." This gives a good sense of the book's thrust, an ethos of "how can I make really, really large amounts of money" without worrying about the consequences to third parties. Sometimes those consequences could be helpful and sometimes not. The book elaborates on both with the emphasis on the political effects of trading, which has the effect of propping up all sorts of political elites, some you may like and some you may not. The first roughly 1/3rd of the book details the rise and fall of Marc Rich, who started his career at Philipp Brothers, but left to go his own way in a dispute over how much he should be paid. Marc Rich was a colorful figure who, for a while, exercised a lot of power over the oil market. Mr. Rich's downfall led to the creation of several major trading houses. The book discusses this. Glencore, Vitol, and Trafigura are successors to Marc Rich and they operated as swashbucklers too. They traded in other commodities besides oil and the book looks at some of these trades as well. According to the authors, much of the success of the traders came from superior information gleaned from having people and offices in many nooks and crannies of the world that many "respectable" companies didn't have. Even with superior information sources, the traders were still gambling and their gambles, at times, didn't pay off. But many times their trades did pay off and spectacularly so. The authors also elaborate on how for much of the time the traders had no real governmental regulation. They operated globally and made their own rules. The rise of China as an economic power in the 1980s through the early 2010s enabled many very profitable trades for these global players. The book finishes with a review of some of the changes that have diminished, but not eliminated, the power of these global players. China, and others, began to set up their own trading arms to go around the Glencore, Vitol, etc., grip on trading. China also has had its own economic challenges. The US and Europe have begun to exercise some regulatory authority over the traders and information, with the internet has become more widely available, all of which has eroded the edge of the traders, but I don't think they're going away. If the subject interests you, I recommend the book highly. It's highly readable and I got through on a part-time basis in a few days.

Great read. Very insightful.

Good insights you can’t get from anywhere else I suppose.

Great book, maybe the best about commodity thematic.

A gripping, deep dive into the hidden engines of the global economy. If you’ve ever wondered how the world’s essential resources—oil, gas, metals, and grain—actually move from point A to point B, this book is an absolute must-read. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy have done a masterful job of pulling back the curtain on the secretive world of commodity traders. ​What I found most fascinating was how these firms (like Glencore, Vitol, and Trafigura) operate in the shadows of geopolitics, often dealing where governments cannot or will not. The level of research is incredible; the authors have clearly spent years tracking down leads and speaking to insiders. It reads like a high-stakes financial thriller, but it’s all real history. It completely changed my perspective on how global power and wealth are truly distributed. Highly recommended for anyone interested in economics, history, or investigative journalism.