
Unveiling the secretive world of commodity trading, "The World for Sale" exposes how a handful of powerful traders control Earth's resources. Shortlisted for the McKinsey/Financial Times award, this eye-opening expose reveals how companies like Glencore shape geopolitics through deals with controversial regimes.
通过作者的声音感受这本书
将知识转化为引人入胜、富含实例的见解
快速捕捉核心观点,高效学习
以有趣互动的方式享受这本书
Picture a private jet spiraling through war-torn Libyan skies in early 2011, shadowed by a NATO drone. Inside sits Ian Taylor, CEO of Vitol-the world's largest oil trading company you've probably never heard of. His mission sounds reckless: supply fuel to cash-strapped rebels fighting Gaddafi. Vitol's exposure eventually balloons past $1 billion, enough to sink the entire company if the rebels lose. Yet Taylor keeps the oil flowing, with tankers slipping into ports under darkness while artillery thunders nearby. This gamble reveals something extraordinary about commodity traders-the invisible titans who ensure your morning coffee reaches your cup, your car has gasoline, and factories keep humming. They thrive where others flee, operating in war zones, dealing with dictators, and moving resources across a planet that desperately needs them. Five oil trading houses control nearly a quarter of world petroleum demand. Seven agricultural traders manage half the planet's grains. Glencore alone handles a third of global cobalt. Yet most people couldn't name a single one. These modern merchant adventurers have quietly shaped history-helping Saddam Hussein dodge UN sanctions, keeping Castro's Cuba afloat, selling wheat to Soviets during the Cold War, and raising billions for Putin's allies. All while generating staggering personal fortunes in near-total secrecy. While humans have traded resources since prehistoric times, the modern industry emerged from nineteenth-century technological breakthroughs. Steamships made bulk shipping economically viable. Telegraphs enabled near-instant global communication. After World War II devastated the industry, postwar reconstruction created immense opportunities as government controls gradually lifted. The stage was set for a new breed of trader to emerge-someone willing to go anywhere, deal with anyone, and risk everything.
将《The World for Sale》的核心观点拆解为易于理解的要点,了解创新团队如何创造、协作和成长。
将《The World for Sale》提炼为快速记忆要点,突出坦诚、团队合作和创造力的关键原则。

通过生动的故事体验《The World for Sale》,将创新经验转化为令人难忘且可应用的精彩时刻。
随心提问,选择声音,共同创造真正与你产生共鸣的见解。

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