| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xvii, 398 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Contents |
Welcome to the asylum -- The boy who would be king -- From wastrels to wildcatters -- Deus ex machina -- The great equalizer -- The rise of Zoltan -- The god complex and other minor foibles -- The futility of the polygraph -- The anatomy of a takedown -- Dark days -- The beauty of the "self-regulatory organization" -- Raids, maids, and civil war -- Ages of excess -- Blood for victory -- The man who traded $100 oil -- Meltdown -- Epilogue: the edict of Noah sweat. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
They were a band of outsiders unable to get jobs with New York's gilded financial establishment. They would go on to corner the world's oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the New York Mercantile Exchange--a secretive, members-only club of men and women who live lavish lifestyles; cavort with politicians, strippers, and celebrities; and blissfully jacked up oil prices to nearly $150 a barrel while profiting off the misery of the working class. Many come from working-class families themselves--the progeny of immigrants who escaped war-torn Europe, they take pride in spurning Wall Street. Under an all-powerful oil cartel, the energy market had long eluded the grasp of America's hungry capitalists, but the rough-and-tumble traders of Nymex went after this Goliath and won, creating the world's first free oil market. Their stunning journey from poverty to prosperity belies the brutal and violent history that is their legacy.--From publisher description. |
| Subject |
New York Mercantile Exchange (N.Y.) -- History.
|
|
Stockbrokers -- United States.
|
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Petroleum industry and trade -- United States -- History.
|
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Petroleum products -- Prices.
|
| ISBN |
9780061766275 hardback |
|
0061766275 hardback |
|
