Pyramid of Lies by Duncan Mavin 
Published in paperback by Pan Books , 2023

After saying how fascinating I found ‘Blood Money’, the story of Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scandal, a friend recommended ‘Pyramid of Lies’, another true story of personal and corporate greed.

At the heart of this tale is the meteoric rise of Lex Greensill and his whirlwind fall back down to earth. Along the way up he was joined by bankers, financiers, CEOs and politicians from around the world, all either convinced by his claims of huge profits or his arrogant self belief or both. On the way down, reputations were ruined and huge sums of money were lost.

Even Carlo Ponzi could not have come up with a scheme of such complexity, greed, power and alleged corruption.

Well written, full of detail and with an end product that reads like a thriller, it should be a lesson to anyone tempted by get rich quick schemes or thinking contacts are more important than ethics

The blurb on the cover uses the word ‘hubris’ to describe the collapse of Greensill Capital. Never was a word used more appropriately, in this case to describe both the Greensill empire and Lex Greensill himself.

A brilliantly presented and detailed overview.

TIP: I suggest you bookmark the glossary before you’re overwhelmed by acronyms.