“Billion Dollar Whale,” an Absurd Tale of Financial Fraud

Sheelah Kolhatkar writes on “Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World,” Tom Wright and Bradley Hope's ... Read“BillionDollarWhale,”anAbsurdTaleofFinancialFraudBySheelahKolhatkarSeptember28,2018Ifyoulikeglobalintrigue,financialcrime,wealthporn,andabsurdity,“BillionDollarWhale,”byTomWrightandBradleyHope,isforyou.It’sthestoryofJhoLow,anenterprisingbusinessmanfromMalaysiawhousedhissocialconnectionstothecountry’sformerPrimeMinisterNajibRazaktotransformhimselfintoaninternationalfinancier.AccordingtoWrightandHope’saccount,LowpersuadedRazaktocreateaninvestmentfund,1MDB,financedwithgovernmentmoney,whichLowmanagedbehindthescenes.GoldmanSachsandotherbankshelpedraisetenbilliondollarsforthefund.Thenapproximatelyfivebilliondollarsofthemoneydisappeared,promptinganinternationalscandal.Fivebillionisalargesum,perhapstoomuchtoeasilydispensewithinashortamountoftime,butthebook’sopeningsceneoffersanideaofwhereitwent.InNovember,2012,thesweaty,awkwardLowthrewhimselfathirty-firstbirthdayparty,inLasVegas.Theguestsincludedthehip-hopproducerSwizzBeatz,theactorsLeonardoDiCaprioandBeniciodelToro,andmanyunnamedbeautifulwomen,andallwerechauffeuredbylimousinetoanightclubthathadbeentransformedintoacircus-partyspace,whereCristalflowedlikewater.There,morecelebritiesappeared,includingKimKardashianandKanyeWest,alongwithinvestmentbankerswhohadworkedwithLow.LowwasgiftedthreeDucatimotorcyclesandatwo-and-a-half-million-dollarsportscar.ThehighpointcamewhenBritneySpearsjumpedoutofagiantbirthdaycakewearingaskimpygoldoutfit.Thewholethingissotackyandoverthetopitalmostseemsmadeup.Still,anyonewhohasfollowedthenewsoutofMalaysiawillknowthatthestoryisalltooreal.Razakwasrecentlyarrestedoncorruptionchargesrelatedtothemissingbillions—hehaspleadednotguiltyonallcounts—andthenewPrimeMinister,MahathirbinMohamad,whowaselectedinMay,pledgestobringreformandtransparencytothetroubledgovernment.Low,meanwhile,hasbeenaccusedofspendingmoneyonparties,high-endAmericanrealestate,andtheproductionofHollywoodmovies,including“TheWolfofWallStreet.”Heremainsatlarge.AboutTheNewYorkerRecommendsTheNewYorkerRecommendsiswhereourcritics,staff,andcontributorssharetheirenthusiasms.In“Read,”ourwritersrecommendnewandnotablebooks,series,andessays.FormoreofTheNewYorker’sliterarycoverage,checkoutBooks,whereourcriticsreviewthelatestinfictionandnonfiction;SecondRead,wherewritersrevisitoldfavorites;andthefictioninthemagazine. YoucanalsosignupforTheNewYorkerRecommendsnewsletter,whichcullsfromboththispageandthemagazine’swiderculturalcoverage.SubscribetoTheNewYorkerforaccesstothefullcontentsofthemagazine,aswellastheentiretyofitsarchives.SigninShopNewsBooks&CultureFiction&PoetryHumor&CartoonsMagazinePuzzles&GamesVideoPodcastsArchiveGoingsOnGetthebestofTheNewYorkerinyourin-boxeveryday.SubmitPrivacyPolicy