Why I Left Goldman Sachs
A Wall Street Story
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $21.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Greg Smith
-
By:
-
Greg Smith
About this listen
An insightful and devastating account of how Wall Street lost its way from an insider who experienced the culture of Goldman Sachs first-hand.
On March 14, 2012, more than 3 million people read Greg Smith's bombshell op-ed in the New York Times titled "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs." The column immediately went viral, became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, and drew passionate responses from former Fed chairman Paul Volcker, legendary General Electric CEO Jack Welch, and New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. Mostly, though, it hit a nerve among the general public who question the role of Wall Street in society - and the callous "take-the-money-and-run" mentality that brought the world economy to its knees a few short years ago. Smith now picks up where his op-ed left off.
His story begins in the summer of 2000, when an idealistic 21-year-old arrives as an intern at Goldman Sachs and learns about the firm's Business Principle number one: Our clients' interests always come first. This remains Smith's mantra as he rises from intern to analyst to sales trader, with clients controlling assets of more than a trillion dollars. From the shenanigans of his summer internship during the technology bubble to Las Vegas hot tubs and the excesses of the real estate boom; from the career lifeline he received from an NFL Hall of Famer during the bear market to the day Warren Buffett came to save Goldman Sachs from extinction - Smith will take the listener on his personal journey through the firm, and bring us inside the world's most powerful bank.
Smith describes in pause-resisting detail how the most storied investment bank on Wall Street went from taking iconic companies like Ford, Sears, and Microsoft public to becoming a "vampire squid" that referred to its clients as "muppets" and paid the government a record half-billion dollars to settle SEC charges. He shows the evolution of Wall Street into an industry riddled with conflicts of interest and a profit-at-all-costs mentality: a perfectly rigged game at the expense of the economy and the society at large.
After conversations with nine Goldman Sachs partners over a 12-month period proved fruitless, Smith came to believe that the only way the system would ever change was for an insider to finally speak out publicly. He walked away from his career and took matters into his own hands. This is his story.
©2012 Greg Smith (P)2012 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Bully Market
- My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs
- By: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Narrated by: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jamie Fiore Higgins became one of the few women at the highest ranks of Goldman Sachs. Spurred on by the obligation she felt to her working-class immigrant family, she rose through the ranks and saw it all: out-of-control, lavish parties flowing with never-ending drinks; affairs flouted in the office; rampant drug use; and most pervasively, a discriminatory culture that seemed designed to hold back the few women and people of color employed at the company.
-
-
Introspective and illuminating
- By Anonymous User on 09-13-22
-
The Buy Side
- A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess
- By: Turney Duff
- Narrated by: Turney Duff
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A remarkable writing debut, filled with indelible moments, The Buy Side shows as no book ever has the rewards—and dizzying temptations—of making a living on the Street. Growing up in the 1980’s Turney Duff was your average kid from Kennebunk, Maine, eager to expand his horizons. After trying – and failing – to land a job as a journalist, he secured a trainee position at Morgan Stanley and got his first feel for the pecking order that exists in the trading pits.
-
-
Fascinating, honest tale of life on the "Street"
- By Courtney on 06-27-13
By: Turney Duff
-
Up Close and All In
- Life Lessons from a Wall Street Warrior
- By: John Mack
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From John Mack, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, an intimate personal memoir and riveting business story, recounting how he helped grow the company from 300 to 50,000 employees over four decades, transformed a notoriously competitive culture into a successful and collaborative one, and lead the company through the 2008 financial crisis. With humor and honesty, Mack shares advice on both business and life: how to create a culture of team players, how to keep perspective during crises, how to make difficult decisions when all eyes are on you, and more.
-
-
Great bio of Wall Street legend with leadership lessons
- By Timothy J on 05-14-24
By: John Mack
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Liar's Poker
- Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, before Michael Lewis became the best-selling author of The Big Short, Moneyball, and Flash Boys, he landed a job at Salomon Brothers, one of Wall Street’s premier investment firms. During the next three years, Lewis rose from callow trainee to New York- and London-based bond salesman, raking in millions for the firm and cashing in on a modern-day gold rush. Liar’s Poker is the culmination of those heady, frenzied years - a behind-the-scenes look at a unique and turbulent time in American business.
-
-
Finally!
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-22
By: Michael Lewis
-
Monkey Business
- Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle
- By: John Rolfe, Peter Troob
- Narrated by: John Rolfe, Peter Troob
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget what you've read, forget what you've heard, forget what you've been taught. Monkey Business pulls off Wall Street's suspenders and gives the listener the inside skinny on real life at an investment bank, where the promised land is always one more 20-hour workday and another lap dance away. Fresh out of Wharton and Harvard business schools, John Rolfe and Peter Troob ran willingly into the open arms of investment bank giant Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. They escaped with the remnants of their sanity - and, ultimately, this book.
-
-
What a mess!
- By Mark on 11-27-18
By: John Rolfe, and others
-
Bully Market
- My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs
- By: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Narrated by: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jamie Fiore Higgins became one of the few women at the highest ranks of Goldman Sachs. Spurred on by the obligation she felt to her working-class immigrant family, she rose through the ranks and saw it all: out-of-control, lavish parties flowing with never-ending drinks; affairs flouted in the office; rampant drug use; and most pervasively, a discriminatory culture that seemed designed to hold back the few women and people of color employed at the company.
-
-
Introspective and illuminating
- By Anonymous User on 09-13-22
-
The Buy Side
- A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess
- By: Turney Duff
- Narrated by: Turney Duff
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A remarkable writing debut, filled with indelible moments, The Buy Side shows as no book ever has the rewards—and dizzying temptations—of making a living on the Street. Growing up in the 1980’s Turney Duff was your average kid from Kennebunk, Maine, eager to expand his horizons. After trying – and failing – to land a job as a journalist, he secured a trainee position at Morgan Stanley and got his first feel for the pecking order that exists in the trading pits.
-
-
Fascinating, honest tale of life on the "Street"
- By Courtney on 06-27-13
By: Turney Duff
-
Up Close and All In
- Life Lessons from a Wall Street Warrior
- By: John Mack
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From John Mack, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, an intimate personal memoir and riveting business story, recounting how he helped grow the company from 300 to 50,000 employees over four decades, transformed a notoriously competitive culture into a successful and collaborative one, and lead the company through the 2008 financial crisis. With humor and honesty, Mack shares advice on both business and life: how to create a culture of team players, how to keep perspective during crises, how to make difficult decisions when all eyes are on you, and more.
-
-
Great bio of Wall Street legend with leadership lessons
- By Timothy J on 05-14-24
By: John Mack
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Liar's Poker
- Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, before Michael Lewis became the best-selling author of The Big Short, Moneyball, and Flash Boys, he landed a job at Salomon Brothers, one of Wall Street’s premier investment firms. During the next three years, Lewis rose from callow trainee to New York- and London-based bond salesman, raking in millions for the firm and cashing in on a modern-day gold rush. Liar’s Poker is the culmination of those heady, frenzied years - a behind-the-scenes look at a unique and turbulent time in American business.
-
-
Finally!
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-22
By: Michael Lewis
-
Monkey Business
- Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle
- By: John Rolfe, Peter Troob
- Narrated by: John Rolfe, Peter Troob
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget what you've read, forget what you've heard, forget what you've been taught. Monkey Business pulls off Wall Street's suspenders and gives the listener the inside skinny on real life at an investment bank, where the promised land is always one more 20-hour workday and another lap dance away. Fresh out of Wharton and Harvard business schools, John Rolfe and Peter Troob ran willingly into the open arms of investment bank giant Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. They escaped with the remnants of their sanity - and, ultimately, this book.
-
-
What a mess!
- By Mark on 11-27-18
By: John Rolfe, and others
-
The Bond King
- How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All
- By: Mary Childs
- Narrated by: Mary Childs
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Bill Gross was known among investors as the Bond King, he was a gambler. In 1966, a fresh college grad, he went to Vegas armed with his net worth ($200) and a knack for counting cards. Ten thousand dollars and countless casino bans later, he was hooked, so he enrolled in business school. The Bond King is the story of how that whiz kid made American finance his casino.
-
-
Being a good writer does not make you a good narrator
- By John Mallory on 05-14-22
By: Mary Childs
-
Money and Power
- How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 30 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Last Tycoons and House of Cards, a revelatory history of Goldman Sachs, the most dominant, feared, and controversial investment bank in the world. William D. Cohan has constructed a vivid narrative that looks behind the veil of secrecy to reveal how Goldman has become so profitable - and so powerful.
-
-
Much better than expected
- By Mark on 06-15-11
By: William D. Cohan
-
The Quants
- How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It
- By: Scott Patterson
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In March 2006, the world’s richest men sipped champagne in an opulent New York hotel. They were preparing to compete in a poker tournament with million-dollar stakes. At the card table that night was Peter Muller, who managed a fabulously successful hedge fund called PDT. With him was Ken Griffin, who was the tough-as-nails head of Citadel Investment Group. There, too, were Cliff Asness, the sharp-tongued, mercurial founder of the hedge fund AQR Capital Management, and Boaz Weinstein, chess “life master” and king of the credit-default swap.
-
-
perhaps the best book on the Quants
- By D. Littman on 04-14-10
By: Scott Patterson
-
Den of Thieves
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street - Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine - created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions - until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.
-
-
Awesome book
- By Lars Tackmann on 10-23-17
By: James B. Stewart
-
Black Edge
- Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street
- By: Sheelah Kolhatkar
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven A. Cohen changed Wall Street. He and his fellow pioneers of the hedge fund industry didn’t lay railroads, build factories, or invent new technologies. Rather, they made their billions through financial speculation, by placing bets in the market that turned out to be right more often than not.
-
-
Amazing book about trading that feels like an adventure novel
- By Tim S on 05-24-18
-
The Fund
- Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend
- By: Rob Copeland
- Narrated by: Rob Copeland, Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ray Dalio does not want you to listen to this audiobook. Late last year, when the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet, announced that he was stepping down from the company he started out of his apartment nearly 50 years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio cultivated an aura of international admiration and fame thanks to his company’s eye-popping success, coupled with a mystique he encouraged with frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles.
-
-
Best finance book I've read in years
- By Aaron on 12-16-23
By: Rob Copeland
-
Billion Dollar Whale
- By: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Now a number-one international best seller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude—one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system.
-
-
Couldn’t stop listening!
- By N Lane on 10-05-18
By: Bradley Hope, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Best Book About Meltdown
- By Chuck on 12-08-09
-
The Smartest Guys in the Room
- The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
- By: Bethany McLean
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 22 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive volume on Enron's amazing rise and scandalous fall, from an award-winning team of Fortune investigative reporters.
-
-
An excellent book, but with a missing chapter
- By Augustus T. White on 03-07-12
By: Bethany McLean
-
Straight to Hell
- True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals
- By: John LeFevre
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past three years, the notorious @GSElevator Twitter feed has offered a hilarious, shamelessly voyeuristic look into the real world of international finance. Hundreds of thousands followed the account, Goldman Sachs launched an internal investigation, and when the true identity of the man behind it all was revealed, it created a national media sensation - but that's only part of the story.
-
-
Unimpressed
- By kara-karina on 08-06-15
By: John LeFevre
-
When Genius Failed
- The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
- By: Roger Lowenstein
- Narrated by: Roger Lowenstein
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roger Lowenstein, the bestselling author of Buffett, captures Long-Term's roller-coaster ride in gripping detail. Drawing on confidential internal memos and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein crafts a story that reads like a first-rate thriller from beginning to end. He explains not just how the fund made and lost its money, but what it was about the personalities of Long-Term's partners, the arrogance of their mathematical certainties, and the late-nineties culture of Wall Street that made it all possible.
-
-
When Genius Failed
- By Sean on 12-17-08
By: Roger Lowenstein
-
Street Freak
- Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers
- By: Jared Dillian
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Jared Dillian joined Lehman Brothers in 2001, he fulfilled a life-long dream to make it on Wall Street - but he had no idea how close to the edge the job would take him. Like Michael Lewis' classic Liar's Poker, Jared Dillian's Street Freak takes listeners behind the scenes of the legendary Lehman Brothers, exposing its outrageous and often hilarious corporate culture.
-
-
Performance overwrought, drama swamps meaning
- By Philo on 02-10-17
By: Jared Dillian
Related to this topic
-
The Asylum
- The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market
- By: Leah McGrath Goodman
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 multitrillion-dollar oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the self-anointed kings of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In some ways, they are everything you would expect them to be: 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.
-
-
A far better book than its come-on implies
- By Philo on 01-05-14
-
Street Freak
- Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers
- By: Jared Dillian
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Jared Dillian joined Lehman Brothers in 2001, he fulfilled a life-long dream to make it on Wall Street - but he had no idea how close to the edge the job would take him. Like Michael Lewis' classic Liar's Poker, Jared Dillian's Street Freak takes listeners behind the scenes of the legendary Lehman Brothers, exposing its outrageous and often hilarious corporate culture.
-
-
Performance overwrought, drama swamps meaning
- By Philo on 02-10-17
By: Jared Dillian
-
Conspiracy of Fools
- A True Story
- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 30 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Say the name 'Enron' and most people believe they've heard all about the story that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. But in the hands of Kurt Eichenwald, the players we think we know and the business practices we think have been exposed are transformed into entirely new, and entirely gripping, material.
-
-
Great Story
- By Adam M Pokorski on 06-06-06
By: Kurt Eichenwald
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
-
-
Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Two Years at Harvard Business School
- By: Philip Delves Broughton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2004 Philip Delves Broughton abandoned a post as Paris bureau chief of the London Daily Telegraph to join 900 other would-be tycoons on the Harvard Business School's plush campus. With acute and often uproarious candor, he assesses the school's success at teaching the traits it extols as most important in business: leadership, decisiveness, ethical behavior, and work/life balance.
-
-
On one breath.
- By Atkins on 05-17-22
-
How Money Became Dangerous
- The Inside Story of Our Turbulent Relationship with Modern Finance
- By: Christopher Varelas, Dan Stone
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a veteran of the trade, a provocative and entertaining voyage into the turbulent heart of modern money that sheds new light on the rise of our threatening and complicated financial system, how money became our adversary, and why finding a new course is crucial to a healthy society.
-
-
Many-sided, thoughtful, very listenable
- By Philo on 02-06-20
By: Christopher Varelas, and others
-
The Asylum
- The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market
- By: Leah McGrath Goodman
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 multitrillion-dollar oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the self-anointed kings of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In some ways, they are everything you would expect them to be: 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.
-
-
A far better book than its come-on implies
- By Philo on 01-05-14
-
Street Freak
- Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers
- By: Jared Dillian
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Jared Dillian joined Lehman Brothers in 2001, he fulfilled a life-long dream to make it on Wall Street - but he had no idea how close to the edge the job would take him. Like Michael Lewis' classic Liar's Poker, Jared Dillian's Street Freak takes listeners behind the scenes of the legendary Lehman Brothers, exposing its outrageous and often hilarious corporate culture.
-
-
Performance overwrought, drama swamps meaning
- By Philo on 02-10-17
By: Jared Dillian
-
Conspiracy of Fools
- A True Story
- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 30 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Say the name 'Enron' and most people believe they've heard all about the story that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. But in the hands of Kurt Eichenwald, the players we think we know and the business practices we think have been exposed are transformed into entirely new, and entirely gripping, material.
-
-
Great Story
- By Adam M Pokorski on 06-06-06
By: Kurt Eichenwald
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
-
-
Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Two Years at Harvard Business School
- By: Philip Delves Broughton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2004 Philip Delves Broughton abandoned a post as Paris bureau chief of the London Daily Telegraph to join 900 other would-be tycoons on the Harvard Business School's plush campus. With acute and often uproarious candor, he assesses the school's success at teaching the traits it extols as most important in business: leadership, decisiveness, ethical behavior, and work/life balance.
-
-
On one breath.
- By Atkins on 05-17-22
-
How Money Became Dangerous
- The Inside Story of Our Turbulent Relationship with Modern Finance
- By: Christopher Varelas, Dan Stone
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a veteran of the trade, a provocative and entertaining voyage into the turbulent heart of modern money that sheds new light on the rise of our threatening and complicated financial system, how money became our adversary, and why finding a new course is crucial to a healthy society.
-
-
Many-sided, thoughtful, very listenable
- By Philo on 02-06-20
By: Christopher Varelas, and others
-
The Zeroes
- My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane
- By: Randall Lane
- Narrated by: Randall Lane
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Magazine entrepreneur Randall Lane had a prime seat at Wall Street's biggest greed fest. The Zeroes is a memoir about the excesses and bad behavior of an outsider who got pulled into a crazy, self-contained world.
-
-
A very entertaining tale
- By andy on 11-03-13
By: Randall Lane
-
The Greatest Trade Ever
- The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History
- By: Gregory Zuckerman
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2006, hedge fund manager John Paulson realized something few others suspected - that the housing market and the value of subprime mortgages were grossly inflated and headed for a major fall. Paulson's background was in mergers and acquisitions, however, and he knew little about real estate or how to wager against housing. He had spent a career as an also-ran on Wall Street. But Paulson was convinced this was his chance to make his mark. He just wasn't sure how to do it. Colleagues at investment banks scoffed at him and investors dismissed him.
-
-
Better Books Now Available
- By David on 05-02-11
-
The Lost Bank
- The Story of Washington Mutual - The Biggest Bank Failure in American History
- By: Kirsten Grind
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the most dizzying days of the financial crisis, Washington Mutual, a bank with hundreds of billions of dollars in its coffers, suffered a crippling bank run. The story of its final, brutal collapse in the autumn of 2008, and its controversial sale to JPMorgan Chase, is an astonishing account of how one bank lost itself to greed and mismanagement, and how the entire financial industry - and even the entire country - lost its way as well. Kirsten Grind’s The Lost Bank is a magisterial and gripping account of these events.
-
-
Sad and Angry by Turn
- By Johnnie Walker on 07-24-12
By: Kirsten Grind
-
The Money Culture
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s was the most outrageous and turbulent era in the financial market since the crash of ’29, not only on Wall Street but around the world. Michael Lewis, as a trainee at Salomon Brothers in New York and as an investment banker and later financial journalist, was uniquely positioned to chronicle the ambition and folly that fueled the decade. In these trenchant, often hilarious true tales we meet the colorful movers and shakers who commanded the headlines and rewrote the rules.
-
-
Not the normal great Michael Lewis
- By Me on 05-12-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
Good for the Money
- My Fight to Pay Back America
- By: Bob Benmosche
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, at the peak of the financial crisis, AIG - the American insurance behemoth - was sinking fast. It was the peg upon which the nation hung its ire and resentment during the financial crisis: the pinnacle of Wall Street arrogance and greed. When Bob Benmosche climbed aboard as CEO, it was widely assumed that he would go down with his ship. In mere months, he turned things around, pulling AIG from the brink of financial collapse and restoring its profitability.
-
-
Worthwhile, informative, and just short of inspiring
- By Preston on 11-17-21
By: Bob Benmosche
-
Hedgehogging
- By: Barton Biggs
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rare is the opportunity to chat with a legendary figure and hear the unvarnished truth about what really goes on behind the scenes. Step inside the world of Wall Street with Barton Biggs as he discusses investing in general, hedge funds in particular, and how he has learned to find and profit from the best moneymaking opportunities in an eat-what-you-kill, cutthroat investment world.
-
-
HedgeHotDogging
- By Bob on 10-01-06
By: Barton Biggs
-
Dethroning the King
- The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon
- By: Julie MacIntosh
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did InBev, a Belgian company controlled by Brazilians, take over one of America's most beloved brands after barely a whimper of a fight? With timing - and some unexpected help from powerful members of the Busch dynasty, the very family that had run the company for more than a century. From the very heart of America's heartland to the European continent to Brazil, Dethroning the King is the ultimate corporate caper and a fascinating case study that's both wide-reaching and profound.
-
-
Good Story but Narration Can be Annoying
- By Ken on 10-21-11
By: Julie MacIntosh
-
Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole
- How Entrepreneurs Turn Failure into Success
- By: Anthony Scaramucci
- Narrated by: Anthony Scaramucci
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole chronicles the rise, fall, and resurgence of SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, giving you a primer on how to thrive in an unpredictable business environment. The sheer number of American success stories has created a false impression that becoming an entrepreneur is a can't-miss endeavor - but nothing could be further from the truth. Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole gives you the skills, insight, and mindset you need to be one of the winners.
-
-
Scaramucci is Key to Making America Great Again
- By Cynthia on 07-24-17
-
The Bank That Lived a Little
- Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market
- By: Philip Augar
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on unparalleled access to those involved, and told with compelling pace and drama, The Bank That Lived a Little is the story of one of the most familiar names on the British high street since Big Bang in 1986. Philip Augar describes in detail three decades of boardroom intrigue driven by ruthless ambition, grandiose dreams and a desire for wealth. It is a tale of a struggle for long-term supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents.
-
-
Global superstar bankers under light-touch gov
- By Philo on 12-21-18
By: Philip Augar
-
Iceland's Secret
- The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Con
- By: Jared Bibler
- Narrated by: Jared Bibler
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in Massachusetts, Jared Bibler relocated to Iceland in 2004 only to find himself in the middle of an unprecedented financial crisis a handful of years later. Personally wiped out and seeking to uncover the truth about a collapse that brought the pastoral country to its knees, he became the lead investigator into some of the largest financial crimes in the world. This work helped Iceland to famously become the only country to jail its bank CEOs in the wake of the 2008 crisis.
-
-
Excellent description of Icelands finacial crash
- By CJF on 08-19-24
By: Jared Bibler
-
Working Together
- Why Great Partnerships Succeed
- By: Michael D. Eisner, Aaron R. Cohen
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson, Michael D. Eisner (introduction and epilogue)
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dig deep and you will find the most compelling argument for working together: Happiness. In business there are always unique individual achievers, but pull down the veil and you'll often find someone alongside them. Michael Eisner does just that in Working Together. Using his own collaboration with Frank Wells at Disney as a launching point for examining other famously successful partnerships, Eisner offers us an intimate and deeply personal look at some of the most rewarding business partnerships.
-
-
Interesting to see what all partners had in common
- By Amazon Customer on 06-01-13
By: Michael D. Eisner, and others
-
The Education of a Value Investor
- My Transformative Quest for Wealth, Wisdom and Enlightenment
- By: Guy Spier
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when a young Wall Street investment banker spends a small fortune to have lunch with Warren Buffett? He becomes a real value investor. In this fascinating inside story, Guy Spier details his career from Harvard MBA to hedge fund manager. But the path was not so straightforward. Spier reveals his transformation from a Gordon Gekko wannabe, driven by greed, to a sophisticated investor who enjoys success without selling his soul to the highest bidder.
-
-
Malk Williams does a superb job.
- By Guy Spier on 11-30-14
By: Guy Spier
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Buy Side
- A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess
- By: Turney Duff
- Narrated by: Turney Duff
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A remarkable writing debut, filled with indelible moments, The Buy Side shows as no book ever has the rewards—and dizzying temptations—of making a living on the Street. Growing up in the 1980’s Turney Duff was your average kid from Kennebunk, Maine, eager to expand his horizons. After trying – and failing – to land a job as a journalist, he secured a trainee position at Morgan Stanley and got his first feel for the pecking order that exists in the trading pits.
-
-
Fascinating, honest tale of life on the "Street"
- By Courtney on 06-27-13
By: Turney Duff
-
Money and Power
- How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 30 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Last Tycoons and House of Cards, a revelatory history of Goldman Sachs, the most dominant, feared, and controversial investment bank in the world. William D. Cohan has constructed a vivid narrative that looks behind the veil of secrecy to reveal how Goldman has become so profitable - and so powerful.
-
-
Much better than expected
- By Mark on 06-15-11
By: William D. Cohan
-
The Partnership
- The Making of Goldman Sachs
- By: Charles D. Ellis
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 32 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a strategy consultant to Goldman Sachs for more than 30 years, Charles D. Ellis developed close relationships with many of the firm's past and present leaders around the world. In The Partnership he probes deeply into the most important chapters in the firm's history, revealing the key events and decisions that tell the colorful, character-driven story of how Goldman Sachs became what it is today.
-
-
All The glory and pageantry of one of those
- By dd on 11-24-10
By: Charles D. Ellis
-
Bully Market
- My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs
- By: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Narrated by: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jamie Fiore Higgins became one of the few women at the highest ranks of Goldman Sachs. Spurred on by the obligation she felt to her working-class immigrant family, she rose through the ranks and saw it all: out-of-control, lavish parties flowing with never-ending drinks; affairs flouted in the office; rampant drug use; and most pervasively, a discriminatory culture that seemed designed to hold back the few women and people of color employed at the company.
-
-
Introspective and illuminating
- By Anonymous User on 09-13-22
-
Chasing Goldman Sachs
- By: Suzanne McGee
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did Wall Street become a self-serving and ultimately destructive profit machine that imploded? Wall Street's real job is to be our "financial utility"---good financial plumbers that funnel capital to companies so the economy can expand and create jobs and also provide the means for individual investors to build portfolios that will increase personal wealth.
-
-
Wasted Read
- By Reg on 07-09-10
By: Suzanne McGee
-
The Dealmaker
- Lessons from a Life in Private Equity
- By: Guy Hands
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd, Guy Hands - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dealmaker is a frank and honest account of how a severely dyslexic child who struggled at school went on to graduate from Oxford and become a serial entrepreneur. It describes Guy Hand's career in private equity, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma. It looks in detail at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy.
-
-
Very Interesting, rather self involved
- By Michael Bereslavsky on 03-06-24
By: Guy Hands
-
The Buy Side
- A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess
- By: Turney Duff
- Narrated by: Turney Duff
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A remarkable writing debut, filled with indelible moments, The Buy Side shows as no book ever has the rewards—and dizzying temptations—of making a living on the Street. Growing up in the 1980’s Turney Duff was your average kid from Kennebunk, Maine, eager to expand his horizons. After trying – and failing – to land a job as a journalist, he secured a trainee position at Morgan Stanley and got his first feel for the pecking order that exists in the trading pits.
-
-
Fascinating, honest tale of life on the "Street"
- By Courtney on 06-27-13
By: Turney Duff
-
Money and Power
- How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 30 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Last Tycoons and House of Cards, a revelatory history of Goldman Sachs, the most dominant, feared, and controversial investment bank in the world. William D. Cohan has constructed a vivid narrative that looks behind the veil of secrecy to reveal how Goldman has become so profitable - and so powerful.
-
-
Much better than expected
- By Mark on 06-15-11
By: William D. Cohan
-
The Partnership
- The Making of Goldman Sachs
- By: Charles D. Ellis
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 32 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a strategy consultant to Goldman Sachs for more than 30 years, Charles D. Ellis developed close relationships with many of the firm's past and present leaders around the world. In The Partnership he probes deeply into the most important chapters in the firm's history, revealing the key events and decisions that tell the colorful, character-driven story of how Goldman Sachs became what it is today.
-
-
All The glory and pageantry of one of those
- By dd on 11-24-10
By: Charles D. Ellis
-
Bully Market
- My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs
- By: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Narrated by: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jamie Fiore Higgins became one of the few women at the highest ranks of Goldman Sachs. Spurred on by the obligation she felt to her working-class immigrant family, she rose through the ranks and saw it all: out-of-control, lavish parties flowing with never-ending drinks; affairs flouted in the office; rampant drug use; and most pervasively, a discriminatory culture that seemed designed to hold back the few women and people of color employed at the company.
-
-
Introspective and illuminating
- By Anonymous User on 09-13-22
-
Chasing Goldman Sachs
- By: Suzanne McGee
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did Wall Street become a self-serving and ultimately destructive profit machine that imploded? Wall Street's real job is to be our "financial utility"---good financial plumbers that funnel capital to companies so the economy can expand and create jobs and also provide the means for individual investors to build portfolios that will increase personal wealth.
-
-
Wasted Read
- By Reg on 07-09-10
By: Suzanne McGee
-
The Dealmaker
- Lessons from a Life in Private Equity
- By: Guy Hands
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd, Guy Hands - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dealmaker is a frank and honest account of how a severely dyslexic child who struggled at school went on to graduate from Oxford and become a serial entrepreneur. It describes Guy Hand's career in private equity, first at Nomura and then as head of his own company, Terra Firma. It looks in detail at the huge deals that Terra Firma has done over the years, involving everything from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy.
-
-
Very Interesting, rather self involved
- By Michael Bereslavsky on 03-06-24
By: Guy Hands
What listeners say about Why I Left Goldman Sachs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter
- 02-01-13
An anecdotal experience, but compelling story
Any additional comments?
This was just one man's experience and the reader risks confirmation bias, but it was a compelling story and well-told. For an interesting look into one man's journey through his career at Goldman, this book is a great choice.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. C.
- 11-12-12
Great book
I enjoyed this book and it held my interest throughout. It's a real inside look at finance. I agree with Greg. Whatever happened to corporate responsibility? It seems like Goldman Sachs thinks it doesn't apply to them. This book tells an interesting story from college through vice presidency for Greg! Nice work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- H. Connelly
- 01-01-13
Must Read for any financial professional
What did you love best about Why I Left Goldman Sachs?
The honesty expressed about what really happens at GS and how the culture changed as the economy got worse was brutally clear.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Why I Left Goldman Sachs?
When he sat down at his desk to collect his things and leave. It must have been a powerful moment for him and yet he never seemed to waiver in his conviction.
What about Greg Smith’s performance did you like?
As the narrator he was able to use voice inflection and his personal tone to bring the story to life. I have known several South Africans but his accent on some words was really funny.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
As a former management intern I appreciated the struggle to get a full-time position and also the cutthroat behavior of many Ivy League candidates.
Any additional comments?
It should be mandatory reading for CEOs and interns alike of those who wish to maintain a culture that is somewhat "old fashioned" in the way that it treats its customers. Here I mean "old fashioned" in a positive context. One where the client is not ever a muppet, lol!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Connie
- 11-20-12
Educational and suspenseful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Greg Smith's performance was excellent and the story interesting and easy to follow.
What did you like best about this story?
It was not written in a hateful manner. It is information everyone knows is going on but is not written about.
What does Greg Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
His voice made you understand his up bring in South Africa and the love of his new country.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The truth is always stranger then fiction
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Johnnie Walker
- 11-10-12
Required reading
I am a financial crisis junkie and have listened to most of Audible's offerings on the topic. Simply put - those who do not know history are destined to relive it. Matters of finance are so complex that it is difficult for most to grasp what happened. For that reason, it still goes on. We cannot stop what we do not understand.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sabine
- 04-06-15
Great Read - Narration Lacking
I do love reading about Wall Street - especially during the crash of recent years. It is just fascinating to me to hear how great it all was, how high everyone was, and how everyone was so devastated when it fell. So few believed it could happen. Greg Smith tells his story, the rise from nothing, to greatness, to the great fall. His accent helps deal with the monotony of his voice. He really could have added more emotion into this, It is HIS story after all. But you can get through it. Still a good book. I would recommend it to those that like the Wall Street Fairy Tales that were...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andy
- 11-28-12
close up view of a dozen years on Wall Street
Best thing about this book is that it was written and narrated by the person that lived through a tumultuous period on Wall Street. Sounded authentic to me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jack Thiel
- 05-27-19
Good insights
It is always good to know things about the inner workings of successful establishments the likes of GS.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SCM
- 11-28-12
World Of Finance
Would you listen to Why I Left Goldman Sachs again? Why?
Maybe, to try and understand some of the terminology better.
Would you be willing to try another book from Greg Smith? Why or why not?
For sure. The way the story was presented, I found to be excellent. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is due to my own lack of understanding of the world of finance.
Which scene was your favorite?
Probably, when Greg was offered the job to go to England and the confrontation that took place in the office of the witch.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Absoulutely!!!! I am now left with nightmares and a tremendouse fear of what little money that I have in my retirement, floating around on wall street.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David Tanovan
- 12-13-12
Courageous tell all!
Would you consider the audio edition of Why I Left Goldman Sachs to be better than the print version?
Yes because you can hear more feeling in authors words.
What did you like best about this story?
Very few people who have climb the corporate ladders of financial services industry have had the guts to expose these companies on their business practices. This was one of the gutsiest.
Have you listened to any of Greg Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No. I would be interested in seeing more of his work.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
When Pigs Fly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!