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Going Infinite

The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

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Going Infinite

By: Michael Lewis
Narrated by: Michael Lewis
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'I asked him how much it would take for him to sell FTX and go do something other than make money. He thought the question over. "One hundred and fifty billion dollars," he finally said-though he added that he had use for "infinity dollars"...'

Sam Bankman-Fried wasn't just rich. Before he turned thirty he'd become the world's youngest billionaire, making a record fortune in the crypto frenzy. CEOs, celebrities and world leaders vied for his time. At one point he considered paying off the entire national debt of the Bahamas so he could take his business there.

Then it all fell apart.

Who was this Gatsby of the crypto world, a rumpled guy in cargo shorts, whose eyes twitched across TV interviews as he played video games on the side, who even his million-dollar investors still found a mystery? What gave him such an extraordinary ability to make money - and how did his empire collapse so spectacularly?

Michael Lewis was there when it happened, having got to know Bankman-Fried during his epic rise. In Going Infinite he tells us a story like no other, taking us through the mind-bending trajectory of a character who never liked the rules and was allowed to live by his own. Both psychological portrait of a preternaturally gifted 'thinking machine', and wild financial roller-coaster ride, this is a twenty-first-century epic of high-frequency trading and even higher stakes, of crypto mania and insane amounts of money, of hubris and downfall. No one could tell it better.

©2023 Michael Lewis (P)2023 Penguin Audio
International Political Science Politics & Government Business

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Critic reviews

Going Infinite is in many ways Lewis at his best. He marshals a complex global story without losing sight of the delightful and revealing human details. He is a world-class noticer … Lewis is a generous writer with a humane intelligence, and it is to his credit that he doesn’t reach for easy cynicism or cheap effects. (Jesse Armstrong)
Going Infinite is wildly entertaining, surprising multiple times on pretty much every page, but it adds up to a sad story, even a tragedy, for its central character and for all the people who lost so much thanks to his actions… Lewis tries to answer the first question he was asked about Bankman-Fried: who was this guy? The question of his guilt or innocence Lewis leaves to the criminal justice system. I think that’s good practice, given that the trial is happening right now. For what it’s worth, I see no contradiction between the person described in Going Infinite and the things SBF is accused of having done. In fact I think the book makes it easier to understand how and why he did what he allegedly did. (John Lanchester)
Life is what happens between Michael Lewis books. (Michael Hofmann)
Most relevant  
Not one of his best. Little depth of explanation of the people or events, and no real challenge of the Effective Altruism motivation purportedly underpinning SBF /FTX story.

A disappointment compared to his other works.

A borderline hagiography

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I wish the author had waited for the trial and published with full information. E.g. he keeps repeating that FTX made $1bn in revenue but evidence from the trial suggested there were backdated trades (aka fraud) to make that number happen. You have been lied to Michael, and you didn’t take the time to find out. Great storytelling and performance though

Fun story, poor journalism

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I had no idea of the back story on this and I was glued to the entire story. Such interesting people and some much going on in just 3 years!

Fascinating story

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This book is a riveting read both on the human scale and the vastness of the Crypto market successes. There were times, early on, when I had to listen twice to a section to understand the unfamiliar subject matter. However the rest of the revelations more than make the effort worthwhile. I won't spoil it for you, you must read it for yourself.

Absolutely Fascinating

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Rose tinted glasses make red flags just flags.
Michael Lewis was a force in the unvarnished truth story telling, now he’s just another celeb writer seeking relevance (walk on part in Billions!).
Oh dear.
There are better analyses of the crypto game.

Far from his best work, sycophantic.

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As much as most people have been told to hate this book, I must commend Michael Lewis for having the guts to go against the stream and write what he deems a fair assessment of SBF. He took a lot of criticism from it but stuck by his interpretations. The book does well.

A fair assessment

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As always it was well read by Lewis and well written. I'm just not sure there is enough or the true story yet for a book to be written, it seemed to lack real context and information like other ML books. one thing's for sure SBF sounds like a tool.

unsure.....

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Got nowhere close to understanding SBF after reading this book. Perhaps should have waited until the trial was over before rushing this out

Not his best

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Good summary of the madness of “Sams world” and the dangers of cheap money. Would have liked the post script of the trial!

Interesting summary of SBF chaos

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fascinating listen of the story of a fascinating person. it is just another example of boom and bust, magic beans, and the power of money

just another case of history repeating...

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