A new book written by Business School alumnus Adam Baldwin (Industrial Economics, 2010) delves into the fascinating history of money as an institution, highlighting the fifty most significant figures that, rightly or wrongly, are responsible for the financial landscape we live in today.

People both inside and outside the world of finance are perpetually curious about the larger–than–life characters that built, shaped, and continue to populate the industry.  From philosophers and bankers to fraudsters and academics, the book provides a striking introduction to the most remarkable characters in the history of finance.

The book reveals how their impact reaches far beyond the financial system itself and has helped shape the course of human history. It explains how the economic systems of today would look very different if it weren′t for these innovators, thought leaders, storytellers, and rebels and takes readers inside their stories to understand their thinking, their background, their perspective and their inspiration.

Highlights include chapters on:

• Knights Templar and how they became the first banking institution.
• The Rothschild family and how they pioneered the use of financial instruments in order to safeguard their wealth from distrusting European monarchs.
• Charles Ponzi and the evolution of the Ponzi scheme.
• Sidney Weinberg who started at Goldman Sachs as a 16 year old janitor’s assistant and rose to become CEO.
• Bernard Madoff and how he masterminded the largest financial fraud in US history.