The Money Trap

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What to expect

‘A riveting page-turner about the world of technology and dealmaking’ – Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

'An extraordinary account… details the thrills and horrors of the risks [Sama] so frequently took'
Sunday Times

A gripping, wildly entertaining memoir that takes you behind the scenes of global business and shines a rare light on the people that are reshaping our world.

Veteran Morgan Stanley banker Alok Sama thought he’d seen it all. Then he found himself chief dealmaker at the most influential technology investor in the world: SoftBank, backer of Arm Holdings, Yahoo, Nvidia, TikTok, Uber, T-Mobile, Alibaba and WeWork.

The Money Trap is Sama’s thrilling, stranger-than-fiction story, detailing his experiences alongside SoftBank’s iconic founder Masayoshi Son – a visionary maverick who wants to be remembered as ‘the crazy guy who bet on the future’ and whose mission is ‘happiness for everyone’. Sama takes the reader on a wild ride as he consorts with billionaire CEOs and heads of state, negotiates mega-deals across the world and contends with a mysterious dark-arts smear campaign that takes a toll on his private life.

This fascinating and humorous saga provides a unique insider perspective on an industry that is disrupting our daily lives. Written with self-deprecating wit, unflinching honesty and searing introspection, The Money Trap is ultimately a morality tale: in life, as in technology investing, more money isn’t always the answer.

'[A] raffish and funny exposé of life on the highest peaks of finance . . . wittily observed . . . I imagine the financially ambitious reader drooling with pleasure' - Wall Street Journal

Critics Review

[A] raffish and funny expose of life on the highest peaks of finance . . . wittily observed . . . I imagine the financially ambitious reader drooling with pleasure
Wall Street Journal
A fascinating story about money, power and the culture of the rarified group of people who wield it. Told with self-deprecating humor, this is an entertaining and illuminating memoir about what it’s like to find yourself in the room as some of the biggest deals in history are being made
Hari Kunzru, author of Blue Ruin, White Tears, Red Pill, Transmission and The Impressionist
A shot of adrenaline that takes you directly inside some of the most secretive rooms in tech and finance . . . a colourful insider’s look into the companies that rule our world
Rob Copeland, New York Times bestselling author of The Fund
An insider’s thrilling tale of dark corporate doings, a great how-to business text, a compendium of fun riffs on modern culture, a flashlight shone on the insanity of high finance . . . Sama writes with authority and panache, humor and outrage, and above all knowledge . . . If this book doesn’t become a bestseller, the world truly makes no sense
Darin Strauss, Award–winning author of Half a Life and The Queen of Tuesday
Alok Sama’s witty, incisive and introspective writing is a genuine pleasure to read. This simultaneously funny and eye-opening memoir from a globe-trotting protagonist is a rare window onto a world most only hear about
Bradley Hope, New York Times bestselling co-author of Billion Dollar Whale and Pulitzer Prize finalist
An extraordinary account . . . details the thrills and horrors of the risks he so frequently took
Sunday Times
A riveting page-turner . . . an immigrant’s story with something significant to say about class, character, identity, family and, perhaps more than anything, the search for happiness
Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Everything is Illuminated and Here I Am
A vivid and intimate story of an insider’s rise to power in the world of money – and his search to find his own peace and freedom
Leigh Owings Newman, Books Editor, Oprah.com and author of Nobody Gets Out Alive and Still Points North
An existential and exquisitely satisfying business thriller…a wonderful story that begins with big business and big deals and ends with the biggest question: what does it means to be a person? Sama brings a pure writerly eye into rooms and situations never before captured in print. This is a thrilling and important book: the incredible thing is that it’s all true
David Lipsky, New York Times bestselling author of Absolutely American and Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself
A rollicking, revealing, and deeply personal memoir of a banker and corporate consigliere at the very top of his game . . . A must-read for anyone hoping to understand how power is wielded in corporate boardrooms. I couldn’t put it down
Gary Ginsberg, New York Times bestselling author of First Friends, former head of communications at News Corp, Time Warner and SoftBank Group
Witty and deep... One hopes he has more stories to tell. Michael Lewis, Malcolm Gladwell and company better watch out.
The Business Standard (of India)

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