Wealth, War and Wisdom - by Barton Biggs (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Der zweite Weltkrieg war verheerender Höhepunkt in der Geschichte, der aus Sicht des Autors fast die westliche Zivilisation gekostet hat. Biggs beschäftigt sich in seinem Buch daher mit der Frage, wie es Menschen in solchen Extremzeiten gelingen kann ihr Kapital zu sicher. Er analysiert dazu das Investitionsverhalten der Anleger von 1930-1945, und zwar sowohl auf Seiten der Sieger als auch auf Seiten der Besiegten. So stellt er beispielweise fest dass Grundeigentümer ihren Reichtum stärker schützten, als die Menschen die ihr Geld in Aktien angelegt hatten. Interessant ist vor allem, dass sich die Lehren aus dem Krieg direkt auf die heutigen turbulenten Märkte anwenden lässt.

From the Back Cover

"Barton Biggs's Wealth, War & Wisdom entertains us with a creative juxtaposition of a war narrative and a security market history. As has been the case throughout his remarkable career, Biggs adds to our store of knowledge with his elegant, wonderfully crafted prose."
--From the Foreword by David F. Swensen, Chief Investment Officer, Yale University

"Barton Biggs has brought his love of history together with half a century of investment experience and written a remarkably readable book about the destruction of wealth and the wisdom of markets during World War II. It is both scholarly and impressionistic and will likely become a mainstay in the libraries of serious financial people for generations."
--Byron Wien, Chief Investment Strategist, Pequot Capital Management, Inc.

At least once in every century there has been an episode of massive wealth destruction. How do you preserve wealth amidst chaos, and are there messages from what has happened in the past? In Wealth, War & Wisdom, renowned Wall Street investor Barton Biggs studies World War II. He notes the surprising and previously unrecognized wisdom of stock markets in discerning the major tipping points. He then examines the performance of different asset classes, and what happened to wealth before and during the war. Filled with in-depth observations and practical advice, Wealth, War & Wisdom provides lessons to be learned as to what steps should be taken to preserve and enhance wealth in times of the most extreme adversity.

About the Author

BARTON BIGGS spent thirty years at Morgan Stanley. In that time, he formed the firm's number one-ranked research department, was chairman of the investment management firm, and then became the firm's leading global strategist. He was often ranked as the number-one U.S. investment strategist by the Institutional Investor magazine poll and then, from 1996 to 2003, as the top global strategist. In 2003, Biggs left Morgan Stanley and, with two other colleagues, formed Traxis Partners. Traxis now has well over a billion dollars under its management. Biggs's previous book, Hedgehogging, is an international success.