Friday Feature Book Review: Billion Dollar Whale (1MDB Scandal):Tom Wright & Bradley Hope 10億ドルクジラ (1MDBスキャンダル) トムライト + ブラッドリーホープ

Successful Entrepreneurs and self-made Billionaires often have something to prove. The Billion Dollar Whale is the story of one such person Jho Low. Originally from Penang, Malaysia, the son of a local millionaire, he certainly had something to prove. Due to his father's wealth after a family owned business sale, Jho Low was given a top class boarding school education in Europe, and then Wharton for his MBA. This is where the story really begins. 

There is always another level of wealth once you see it from the inside. Unlike first generation wealth, multiple generation wealth & royalty have widely varying levels of wealth that millionaires will never reach. This gap is what Jho Low discovered at school. The main driver seems to be how can I grow not just better than my father, but well beyond to a Billionaire class? When some people say they are willing to do anything to reach their goals, they sometimes mean exactly that. Moral judgments have no value compared to some goals, and Jho Low shared this attitude. Everything was on the table, even fraud to get that level of wealth.

This is not the book I expected. Jho Low, is a wannabe billionaire. He lacks the core foundation or direct business experience needed to be a real founder. He did not build a business or have an innovative idea for a new product or service. What he lacks though, he makes up for with an unbelievable drive. He has an ability to see the big picture and execute on how greed can override reason. That ability to understand human nature and be laser focused on this weakness, is his genius. He grew up  exposed to billionaire families via his international school education. Many others have done the same, but only he saw the potential to leverage who he knew, in ways that most of us could not fathom. He had a rare ability to both connect the dots and to do so with key people who could close a deal. He could always make those dots line up straight. He fabricated a heist, and then laundered the cash my mastering the weaknesses of the offshore banking system.

By starting with a connection that knew the Prime Minister of Malaysia, he started his plan. By getting the backing of the PM for a new sovereign wealth fund called 1MDB, he began his journey. Goldman Sachs, via Tim Leissner, a top MD in Asia, helped raised further capital via bond sales. The total amount of debt from 1MDB totaled over US$7 Billion in the end! Most of it has since disappeared. Goldman Sachs were overpaid by many multiples in agent fees. This whole fiasco will soon be in US court and a large fine to the US SEC is expected. When the police raided prime minister Najib Razak's home, they found $274 Million worth of items. This included $28 Million in cash, 567 handbags, 423 watches, and 12,000+ pieces of jewelry. This certainly makes it easier to understand how $681 Million sent into the personal account of Malaysia's Prime Minister was not "a mistake" or even a "charity donation" from Saudi Arabia. This unbelievable story is a slow motion train wreck. It is fascinating, but revolting at the same time. Greed & corruption at this level is almost repulsive to the reader.

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that impact any reader are:

1) There is no limit to ambition, even legal guidelines and moral judgments are self imposed. If you do not have a solid foundation of judgement, you will be lost over time.

2) Even if you have the cash, being accepted as a Billionaire takes time and trust, not just money. Old money never accepts new money quickly, no matter how much.

3) Making short term decisions quickly under stress, that will impact you long-term, are not helpful in life. Any large amount of cash you need to manage, should not be rushed.

Hollywood can seem to paid for if you can afford the price. By bankrolling the "Wolf of Wall Street", Jho Low was able to break into the Hollywood movie seen pretty quickly. However, when you do not ask many basic questions as a producer, directors lose professional respect pretty fast. During the movie, they needed to buy and then crash a US$300K+ Lamborghini Countach in a scene. Jho Low said fine, but no experienced movie producer would allow that. They would force the director to use a replica and save on cost. Jho Low was never that savvy on such details, nor did he care. He showed this pattern in many similar ways. Curiously, when Jordan Belmont attended one of Jho Low's parties, he looked around at the spending and said"this guy stole the cash, nobody who made money would spend it like this" Strange coming from a fraudster who would know. Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Alicia Keys, her husband Swizz Beats, Jamie Foxx, Paris Hilton, Miranda Kerr, Britney Spears, Nelly, Ne-Yo and many others all pop into the story. It is amazing how big spending can open up doors in Hollywood.

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