The World for Sale lifts the lid on one of the least scrutinized corners of the world economy: the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard, and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets, enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centers. The result is an eye-opening tour through the wildest frontiers of the global economy, as well as a revelatory guide to how capitalism really works. --

Introduction: Last swashbucklers -- Pioneers -- Godfather of Oil -- Last bank in town -- Paper barrels -- Fall of Marc Rich -- Biggest closing-down sale in history -- Communism with capitalist influences -- Big bang -- Petrodollars and kleptocrats -- Destination Africa -- Hunger and profit -- Billionaire factory -- Merchants of power