This week, we speak with Michael Lewis, whose latest book is “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” on FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. He takes readers into the mind of Bankman-Fried, whose rise and fall offers an education in high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies, philanthropy, bankruptcy, and the justice system.
We discuss his writing process, and what made this book so different than his prior ones: A focus on personalities instead of some broad social upheaval.
He explains the “story war” going on between crypto advocates, people who lost money, prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as lots of other observers.
I did manage to ask a few challenging questions, including:
-Did you get too close to your subjects?
-How much did FTX pay you?
-is SBF on the spectrum?
-How did the death of your daughter affect your writing process?
I found him to be open and unguarded and was happy to answer all questions.
A list of his published books is here; A transcript of our conversation is available here Tuesday.
You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Graeme Forster, a director at Orbis Holdings Ltd., which has $51 billion in assets under management. Orbis deploys a unique fee arrangement, where they are only paid a fee when they outperform their benchmark and refund fees to clients when they underperform. The Orbis Global Equity is their flagship fund, accounting for 67% of their assets, and has compounded at 11% annually, outperforming its benchmark since its 1990 inception.
Previously:
Cancelling Michael Lewis (October 5, 2023)
Revisiting Liar’s Poker, 30 Years Later (April 22, 2022)
MiB: Michael Lewis on Pandemic Planning (May 8, 2021)
MiB: Michael Lewis on Coaches and Risk (May 25, 2020)
MIB: Michael Lewis, Podcaster (April 6, 2019)
MIB: Michael Lewis on a Writer’s Life (December 13, 2016)
Michael Lewis’ Portrait of Two Men Who Changed the World (December 5, 2016)
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
The New New Thing : A Silicon Valley Story
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Coaching
Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life
Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood
Collections
The Money Culture
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World
Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity