{"product_id":"the-match-king-ivar-kreuger-the-financial-genius-behind-a-century-of-wall-street-scandals-9781586488123","title":"The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals","description":"At the height of the roaring '20s, Swedish 'migr' Ivar Kreuger made a fortune raising money in America and loaning it to Europe in exchange for matchstick monopolies. His enterprise was a rare success story throughout the Great Depression. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Yet after Kreuger's suicide in 1932, the true nature of his empire emerged. Driven by success to adopt ever-more perilous practices, Kreuger had turned to shell companies in tax havens, fudged accounting figures, off-balance-sheet accounting, even forgery. He created a raft of innovative financial products -- many of them precursors to instruments wreaking havoc in today's markets. When his Wall Street empire collapsed, millions went bankrupt. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Frank Partnoy, a frequent commentator on financial disaster for the\u003ci\u003e Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, NPR, and CBS's \"60 Minutes,\" recasts the life story of a remarkable yet forgotten genius in ways that force us to re-think our ideas about the wisdom of crowds, the invisible hand, and the free and unfettered market.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrank Partnoy\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eF.I.A.S.C.O., Infectious Greed\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Match King\u003c\/i\u003e. Formerly an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and a practicing corporate lawyer, he is one of the world's leading experts on market regulation and is a frequent commentator for the \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, NPR, and CBS's \u003ci\u003e60 Minutes\u003c\/i\u003e. Partnoy is a graduate of Yale Law School and is the George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance and the founding director of the Center for Corporate and Securities Law at the University of San Diego.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"PublicAffairs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50670900150546,"sku":"9781586488123","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_59ce6439-899b-4055-b683-542a4f12db8e.jpg?v=1733790838","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-match-king-ivar-kreuger-the-financial-genius-behind-a-century-of-wall-street-scandals-9781586488123","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}