The Secret Club That Runs the World

'Commodity players are shrewd. And the contracts they trade are so loosely regulated that the correct combination of money and skill creates irresistible opportunity. That's why I'm only half joking when I call them the secret club that runs the world.'

When most of us think of the drama of global finance, we think of stocks and bonds. But commodities? Crude oil and soya beans? Copper and wheat? What could be more boring?

That's exactly what the elite commodity traders...
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'Commodity players are shrewd. And the contracts they trade are so loosely regulated that the correct combination of money and skill creates irresistible opportunity. That's why I'm only half joking when I call them the secret club that runs the world.'

When most of us think of the drama of global finance, we think of stocks and bonds. But commodities? Crude oil and soya beans? Copper and wheat? What could be more boring?

That's exactly what the elite commodity traders want us to think. They don't seek the spotlight. They don't want to be as famous as Warren Buffett. Their astonishing wealth was created in obscurity, because they dwell in private companies or deep within large banks and corporations.

But if the individuals in the commodities boom have gone unnoticed, their impact has not. Prices of raw materials have exploded. Are the big traders jacking up the cost of petrol, food and essentials bought by people around the world? How did such immense power end up in the hands of a few?

In this riveting book, Kate Kelly takes us inside the inner circle that affects so many things we all depend on. Following a trail from New York to London to Dubai, from hedge funds and banks to brokers and regulators, she reveals the fullest ever picture of the men who gamble with our future every day.