2022-12-21
1 小时 25 分钟this line between a visionary and a fraudster.
You know, you think that there are two opposite ends of the spectrum,
but in reality, they're where the ends of the circle meet,
but somebody has the ability to put a vision forward like Jeff Skelling did at Enron,
like Elizabeth Holmes did at Parenos, like SPF did.
Then you're particularly susceptible.
Self-delusion is such a strong component of all of these stories of business gone wrong.
The line between what happened at Enron and what happened in the global financial crisis,
It's not a matter of black and white.
Well, do you believe in the efficient market hypothesis?
The rapid implosion of a company worth tens of billions of dollars,
insider dealing and romantic entanglements between sister companies,
a politically generous CEO who is well connected in Washington,
the use of a company's own stock as its collateral, the attempt,
the short-lived attempt to get bought out by a previous competitor,
and the fraudulent abuse of a mark-to-market accounting.
We are not talking about FTX, we are talking about Enron, which my guest today, Bethany McLean,
first broke the story of, and has written an amazing and detailed book about,
called The Smartest Guys in the Room.
And she has also written a book about the housing crisis, All the Devils Are Here,