
The Man Who Broke Capitalism
How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America—and How to Undo His Legacy
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Narrated by:
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Kevin R. Free
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By:
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David Gelles
About this listen
New York Times Bestseller
New York Times reporter and “Corner Office” columnist David Gelles reveals legendary GE CEO Jack Welch to be the root of all that’s wrong with capitalism today and offers advice on how we might right those wrongs.
In 1981, Jack Welch took over General Electric and quickly rose to fame as the first celebrity CEO. He golfed with presidents, mingled with movie stars, and was idolized for growing GE into the most valuable company in the world. But Welch’s achievements didn’t stem from some greater intelligence or business prowess. Rather, they were the result of a sustained effort to push GE’s stock price ever higher, often at the expense of workers, consumers, and innovation. In this captivating, revelatory book, David Gelles argues that Welch single-handedly ushered in a new, cutthroat era of American capitalism that continues to this day.
Gelles chronicles Welch’s campaign to vaporize hundreds of thousands of jobs in a bid to boost profits, eviscerating the country’s manufacturing base, and destabilizing the middle class. Welch’s obsession with downsizing—he eliminated 10% of employees every year—fundamentally altered GE and inspired generations of imitators who have employed his strategies at other companies around the globe. In his day, Welch was corporate America’s leading proponent of mergers and acquisitions, using deals to gobble up competitors and giving rise to an economy that is more concentrated and less dynamic. And Welch pioneered the dark arts of “financialization,” transforming GE from an admired industrial manufacturer into what was effectively an unregulated bank. The finance business was hugely profitable in the short term and helped Welch keep GE’s stock price ticking up. But ultimately, financialization undermined GE and dozens of other Fortune 500 companies.
Gelles shows how Welch’s celebrated emphasis on increasing shareholder value by any means necessary (layoffs, outsourcing, offshoring, acquisitions, and buybacks, to name but a few tactics) became the norm in American business generally. He demonstrates how that approach has led to the greatest socioeconomic inequality since the Great Depression and harmed many of the very companies that have embraced it. And he shows how a generation of Welch acolytes radically transformed companies like Boeing, Home Depot, Kraft Heinz, and more. Finally, Gelles chronicles the change that is now afoot in corporate America, highlighting companies and leaders who have abandoned Welchism and are proving that it is still possible to excel in the business world without destroying livelihoods, gutting communities, and spurning regulation.
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During the 20th century, America managed to make its economic and social systems both more and more fair and more and more prosperous. A huge, secure, and contented middle class emerged. All boats rose together. But then the New Deal gave way to the Raw Deal. Beginning in the early 1970s, by means of a long war conceived of and executed by a confederacy of big business CEOs, the superrich, and right-wing zealots, the rules and norms that made the American middle class possible were undermined and dismantled.
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History through a far left lens
- By Josh on 09-03-20
By: Kurt Andersen
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The Real-Life MBA
- Your No-BS Guide to Winning the Game, Building a Team, and Growing Your Career
- By: Jack Welch, Suzy Welch
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In the decade since their blockbuster international best seller Winning was published, Jack and Suzy Welch have dug deeper into business, traveling the world; consulting to organizations of every size and in every industry; speaking before hundreds of audiences; working closely with entrepreneurs from Mumbai to Silicon Valley; and, in 2010, starting their own fully accredited online MBA program, which now has approximately 1,000 students enrolled.
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Good for beginners
- By Ernesto V. on 06-30-15
By: Jack Welch, and others
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Lights Out
- Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric
- By: Thomas Gryta, Ted Mann
- Narrated by: James Edward Thomas
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its founding in 1892, GE has been more than just a corporation. For generations, it was job security, a solidly safe investment, and an elite business education for top managers. GE electrified America, powering everything from lightbulbs to turbines, and became fully integrated into the American societal mindset as few companies ever had. And after two decades of leadership under legendary CEO Jack Welch, GE entered the twenty-first century as America's most valuable corporation. Yet, fewer than two decades later, the GE of old was gone.
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A GE Middle Manager Enraged to Learn These Things
- By Paul Mullen on 08-18-20
By: Thomas Gryta, and others
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Ludicrous
- The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors
- By: Edward Niedermeyer
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Tesla Motors and CEO Elon Musk have become household names, shaking up the staid auto industry by creating a set of innovative electric vehicles that have wowed the marketplace and defied conventional wisdom. But behind the hype, Tesla has some serious deficiencies that raise questions about its sky-high valuation, and even its ultimate survival. In Ludicrous, journalist and auto industry analyst Edward Niedermeyer lays bare the disconnect between the popular perception of Tesla and the day-to-day realities of the company - and the cars it produces.
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Anti-Tesla and Extremely Biased
- By Jay K. on 11-04-19
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Too Big to Fail
- The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves
- By: Andrew Ross Sorkin
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true, behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami.
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Best Book About Meltdown
- By Chuck on 12-08-09
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The House of Morgan
- An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece.
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The construction of the House of Morgan
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Ron Chernow
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The Prize
- The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power
- By: Daniel Yergin
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 46 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Now with an epilogue that speaks directly to the current energy crisis, The Prize recounts the panoramic history of the world’s most important resource—oil. Daniel Yergin’s timeless book chronicles the struggle for wealth and power that has surrounded oil for decades and that continues to fuel global rivalries, shake the world economy, and transform the destiny of men and nations. This updated edition categorically proves the unwavering significance of oil throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first by tracing economic and political clashes over precious “black gold.”
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Great book!
- By Javier H. Eguino on 04-09-25
By: Daniel Yergin
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When McKinsey Comes to Town
- The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm
- By: Walt Bogdanich, Michael Forsythe
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In When McKinsey Comes to Town, two prizewinning investigative journalists have written a portrait of the company sharply at odds with its public image. Bogdanich and Forsythe have penetrated the veil of secrecy surrounding McKinsey by conducting hundreds of interviews, obtaining tens of thousands of revelatory documents, and following rule #1 of investigative reporting: Follow the money. When McKinsey Comes to Town is a a devastating portrait of a firm whose work has often made the world more unequal, more corrupt, and more dangerous.
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Shows systemic problems in McKinsey's culture
- By GA on 10-15-22
By: Walt Bogdanich, and others
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Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
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really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
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Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order
- Why Nations Succeed or Fail
- By: Ray Dalio
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Ray Dalio
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the number-one New York Times best seller Principles, who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history’s most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we’ve experienced in our lifetimes - and to offer practical advice on how to navigate them well.
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Ray Dalio, Chinas New Minister of Propoganda
- By Dudley on 01-04-22
By: Ray Dalio
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Your Next Five Moves
- Master the Art of Business Strategy
- By: Patrick Bet-David
- Narrated by: Patrick Bet-David
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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From the creator of Valuetainment, the number-one YouTube channel for entrepreneurs, and “one of the most exciting thinkers” (Ray Dalio, author of Principles) in business today, comes a practical and effective guide for thinking more clearly and achieving your most audacious professional goals.
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Mediocre; few actionable take-aways.
- By Michael on 10-31-20
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Source Code
- My Beginnings
- By: Bill Gates
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Bill Gates
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone is programmed a little differently, and Bill Gates' unique insight led to business triumphs that are now widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a software company that became an industry giant and changed the way the world works and lives; the billionaire many times over who turned his attention to philanthropic pursuits to address climate change, global health, and U.S. education.
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Horrible narrator
- By purchaser on 02-10-25
By: Bill Gates
What listeners say about The Man Who Broke Capitalism
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- Alex Lopez-negrete
- 06-16-22
A must-read.
Helps one understand how we to to where we are today. well performed, beautifully written.
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- RVC Consumer Ted
- 06-13-22
Wonderful Book, Awful Narration
As somebody who worked at General Electric from 1989 to 2009 and interfaced with Jack Welch on a relatively regular basis in my role as an anchor at CNBC, I find that this book nails everything that was right and wrong with the Welch way.
The insane zeal to “beat the street” by a penny, employee be damned, was one of the awful legacies Jack Welch left us. As the author explains, Welch’s successor Jeff Immelt was no better. I will leave the storytelling to Mr. Geddes and simply say that I witnessed a lot of this personally at the time I was too naïve, too starstruck and too dependent on my job at GE/NBC, to speak up or say anything.
As for the narrator of this book, what an awful job. He didn’t even pronounce Jack Welch’s name properly on multiple occasions, he used the French pronunciation when it wasn’t warranted and didn’t when it was. His overall lack of facility with business and corporate information in any detail proved him to be someone way over his head in terms of subject matter. This book would have been much better if it’s audio version had it been read by someone with an understanding and command of the situation at GE and corporate America in general. Simon & Schuster can and should have done better in selecting a narrator!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Derek I.
- 06-08-22
Explains how Working was Devalued
Concise history of how working for a living has been devalued by the investing class. Demonstrates how publicly traded companies are responsible for sending jobs offshores and destroying the working class in America.
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- Ras
- 11-19-22
Excellent analysis of American business practices.
This book is well researched and re-examines the legacy of Jack Welch. All corporate executives should read this book. Everyone should read this book.
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- Edwin Atkins
- 03-13-23
A great History Lesson
This book goes a long way towards exposing those responsible for deconstructing the American economy and our manufacturing base while walking away with billions in remuneration and bonuses.
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- Groat
- 04-12-23
Painful for those who fell for his scam.
I'm sure it hurts for graduates of modern business school, but they fell for a scam.
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- Derek
- 03-26-24
validation of the fact that things are wrong
There is something wrong with our system in this book points a very big finger at it
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- Jon
- 11-24-22
Long Term GE Employee - This Rings True
I’ve been at GE’s aircraft engines business for over 15 years. Every industrial worker should read this book. It helped me to make sense of a lot of the moves I’ve seen the company make over the years.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sustainability Man
- 12-04-22
Must read corporate horror story
This is both an important and gripping story of a man whose influence we all suffer from without being aware of it. The writing is breezy and compelling and the narration so good that you don’t even hear the narrator’s voice while getting drawn into the story.
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- Bradley Shaw
- 09-04-23
Great book
Fascinating take on the rise and fall of Jack Welch and his acolytes. While still leaving some hope for the future.
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