Take a photo of a barcode or cover
1k reviews for:
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
Bill Browder
4.26 AVERAGE
1k reviews for:
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
Bill Browder
4.26 AVERAGE
You don’t need a background in sanctions to think this is a righteous fight and a GREAT story. I always say the best thing about the Magnitsky sanctions is that the current occupant of 1600 can’t just overturn them, no matter how much the Russians groom, cajole or threat him.* If you run a Twitter search on Magnitsky sanctions now you see folks from Hong Kong and Iran encouraging Congress to pass similar sanctions against their own human rights abuses. This is heartening, even in an era of awfulness: America stood against human rights abuses and we can do it again.
* I assume a woman president wouldn’t be so idiotic as to get involved with Russia, because women are smart.
* I assume a woman president wouldn’t be so idiotic as to get involved with Russia, because women are smart.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Amazing story especially since it's true! Serious, first person glimpse into the lack of human rights in Russia. I highly recommend this book.
This book is a must read if you are interested in understanding the climate under Putin. You will be horrified but pleased you read it. It will leave no doubt in your mind that there is something very wrong with Donald Trump and his relationship to Russia, despite this book not being about that.
This book is a hell of a story. Very well written and easy to read.
I work in finance and I learned more about bond trading than I have in 3 years working on a bond desk. But that isn't the point of this book. The point is letting the world know what a terrible dictator that Putin is and that sometimes one person, with a lot of help, can do something about it. And to remember Sergei's legacy.
Grandson of the head of the American Communist party, decides to rebel by becoming a capitalist. Based on his family background he decides to focus on Eastern Europe and ends up with BCG in London, then with Robert Maxwell's company where he gets first hand experience in Poland and Russia. He realizes that in the upcoming privatization frenzy, there are many dramatically undervalued companies and lots of money to be made, so he sets up an investment fund focussed on Russia. At first, things go well and he makes a lot of money and manages to participate in the ouster of some corrupt oligarchs during the transition from Yeltsin to Putin. He thinks Putin is on his side, but later he realizes that it's more a case of "my enemy's enemies are my friends" and he has inadvertently helped replace the old oligarchs with Putin's oligarchs. Eventually he runs afoul of Putin and is kicked out of the country. He manages to sell all of the assets and get the money out. Meanwhile the Russians have re-registered several of his companies and created a frame up for tax fraud. He naively decides to fight and in the process discovers some interesting characteristics about how Russia really operates (there is still a belief in bureaucracy so things get filed and can be found, it's pretty much a prison yard mentality, paranoia and secrecy are still rampant and it spends a lot of time making the West think it's democratic like them, but it is not). Unfortunately there are some casualties - his Russian lawyer is detained, tortured and killed (then tried in absentia). The second half of the book is about Browder's campaign to get some justice for his lawyer and it results in the sanctions of individuals involved in the case. Reads like a Michael Lewis book (high praise from me). Yes, he's naive and yes he exploits the system (but isn't that capitalism?) but he is also aware of that and is now impassioned about justice being done. Recommended.
Red Notice was selected by a member of my book club for our February discussion. It is the true story for Bill Browder's experience as an investment fund manager in Russia during the late 1990's and early 2000's. His strategy of investing in undervalued Russian companies and then exposing the corrupt oligarchs made his company, Hermitage Capital Management, the largest foreign investor in Russia. He was kicked out of Russia in 2005. His staff and lawyers were forced to flee to London when Russia's falsely charged Browder as a threat to national security. One of his attorneys, Sergie Magnitsky was jailed, tortured and ultimately died in prison.
I found Red Notice to be a page turner. Once Browder moves to Russia and begins investing in Russian companies, intrigue quickly follows - this is Russia after all. But to understand his motivations for living and working in Russia, we need to learn about his family and upbringing.
Browder's grandfather, Earl Browder, was a prominent leader in the American Communist movement during the 1930's and 1940's. Bill's parents were intellectuals and left-learning. His parents, Felix and Eva, met at MIT and his father was nationally recognized mathematician. Bill's older brother is one of the world's top particle physicists. Bill was more focused on enjoying high school than studying which caused tension with his parents. Being a rebel, he decided the best way to upset his parents would be to become a capitalist.
Bill graduated from University of Chicago, received an MBA from Stanford, and then worked at the Boston Consulting Group. (So there was some reverence for academia.) After some soul-searching and reflecting on his grandfather's legacy, he decided his goal was to work in Eastern Europe. After some false starts and disappointments with BCG and other companies, he used his connections to secure funding to start his own investment fund, Hermitage Capital Management, in Russia. Bill saw an opportunity to capitalize on the transition from communism to capitalism. Additionally, Bill and his team had a knack for identifying undervalued, publicly traded companies, and turning them around by rooting out the corruption of the Russian oligarchs that owned these entities.
And for several years, Bill's success benefited the Russian leadership, especially Vladmir Putin. However, once that changed, it put Bill, his employees, Hermitage Capital and anyone associated with them in extreme danger.
The first half of Red Notice describes Browder's upbringing, education, early work experience and the growth of Hermitage. Browder spends time explaining to the reader his investment approach and why it can be/is successful. As a non-financial person, I appreciated his step by step explanation without using a lot of financial jargon. It was easy to understand why he saw great opportunity in Russia and Eastern Europe.
The second half focuses on his legal fight in Russia, the danger he and his employees experienced, and Sergie Magnitsky's arrest, incarceration and death. The book culminates with his efforts to get international justice for Magnitsky's death.
I was struck by how brazen Browder and Hermitage Capital are in their pursuit of rooting out Russian corruption. Right from the beginning, he takes on powerful oligarchs and a corrupt justice system. It seems like his success at the beginning, blinded him to the real life risks and the danger of angering the wrong powerful oligarchs. His American values of truth and justice don't translate to the Russian version of capitalism.
The real tragedy of the story is Sergie Magnitsky's arrest and death. Browder makes it a personal mission to find justice for him and succeeds in persuading Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act in 2012. The Magnitsky Act prohibits those Russians involved in Sergie Magnitsky's death from traveling to the United States and using our banking system. In 2016, the Act was expanded so that the US could sanction any foreign government official involved in human rights abuses. For example, it was used to sanction Saudi officials involved in the death of Washing Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Other countries have since passed similar legislation.
I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about Russian oligarchs and their grip on the Russian economy. And while I loosely knew Sergie Magnitsky's story, I now understand why Bill Browder and his colleagues pushed so hard to achieve justice for his death. It is a shame that Russians working for fairness, freedom and liberty are jailed, tortured and killed because they present a threat to those in power: Putin and the oligarchs.
I found Red Notice to be a page turner. Once Browder moves to Russia and begins investing in Russian companies, intrigue quickly follows - this is Russia after all. But to understand his motivations for living and working in Russia, we need to learn about his family and upbringing.
Browder's grandfather, Earl Browder, was a prominent leader in the American Communist movement during the 1930's and 1940's. Bill's parents were intellectuals and left-learning. His parents, Felix and Eva, met at MIT and his father was nationally recognized mathematician. Bill's older brother is one of the world's top particle physicists. Bill was more focused on enjoying high school than studying which caused tension with his parents. Being a rebel, he decided the best way to upset his parents would be to become a capitalist.
Bill graduated from University of Chicago, received an MBA from Stanford, and then worked at the Boston Consulting Group. (So there was some reverence for academia.) After some soul-searching and reflecting on his grandfather's legacy, he decided his goal was to work in Eastern Europe. After some false starts and disappointments with BCG and other companies, he used his connections to secure funding to start his own investment fund, Hermitage Capital Management, in Russia. Bill saw an opportunity to capitalize on the transition from communism to capitalism. Additionally, Bill and his team had a knack for identifying undervalued, publicly traded companies, and turning them around by rooting out the corruption of the Russian oligarchs that owned these entities.
And for several years, Bill's success benefited the Russian leadership, especially Vladmir Putin. However, once that changed, it put Bill, his employees, Hermitage Capital and anyone associated with them in extreme danger.
The first half of Red Notice describes Browder's upbringing, education, early work experience and the growth of Hermitage. Browder spends time explaining to the reader his investment approach and why it can be/is successful. As a non-financial person, I appreciated his step by step explanation without using a lot of financial jargon. It was easy to understand why he saw great opportunity in Russia and Eastern Europe.
The second half focuses on his legal fight in Russia, the danger he and his employees experienced, and Sergie Magnitsky's arrest, incarceration and death. The book culminates with his efforts to get international justice for Magnitsky's death.
I was struck by how brazen Browder and Hermitage Capital are in their pursuit of rooting out Russian corruption. Right from the beginning, he takes on powerful oligarchs and a corrupt justice system. It seems like his success at the beginning, blinded him to the real life risks and the danger of angering the wrong powerful oligarchs. His American values of truth and justice don't translate to the Russian version of capitalism.
The real tragedy of the story is Sergie Magnitsky's arrest and death. Browder makes it a personal mission to find justice for him and succeeds in persuading Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act in 2012. The Magnitsky Act prohibits those Russians involved in Sergie Magnitsky's death from traveling to the United States and using our banking system. In 2016, the Act was expanded so that the US could sanction any foreign government official involved in human rights abuses. For example, it was used to sanction Saudi officials involved in the death of Washing Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Other countries have since passed similar legislation.
I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about Russian oligarchs and their grip on the Russian economy. And while I loosely knew Sergie Magnitsky's story, I now understand why Bill Browder and his colleagues pushed so hard to achieve justice for his death. It is a shame that Russians working for fairness, freedom and liberty are jailed, tortured and killed because they present a threat to those in power: Putin and the oligarchs.
Fantastic!
This book was recommended by an investment analyst friend of my son's. It is the true story of an American investor, Bill Browder, who was among the first investors to venture into Russia just when it was veering away from communism. He was able to identify smart investment opportunities created by the confusion of those early days.
He was competing with men who would later become powerful oligarchs, and eventually with Putin himself.
The story documents his early success and how the Russian government took action against him in retribution for that success (why should foreigners reap the rewards that belong to Russians?).
In the end he had to leave Russia and many people were hurt, particularly one of his Russian lawyers, Sergei Magnitsky, who was imprisoned, tortured and eventually killed. His death had a strong impact on Browder, who redirected his life towards fighting against human rights abuses.
His most significant impact was the passage of the Magnitsky law both in the US and in the EU. That law prohibits entry into the US (and the EU) to the specific people who were involved in the abuses documented by Browder.
The story is well written, exciting to read and - most of all - inspiring!
This book was recommended by an investment analyst friend of my son's. It is the true story of an American investor, Bill Browder, who was among the first investors to venture into Russia just when it was veering away from communism. He was able to identify smart investment opportunities created by the confusion of those early days.
He was competing with men who would later become powerful oligarchs, and eventually with Putin himself.
The story documents his early success and how the Russian government took action against him in retribution for that success (why should foreigners reap the rewards that belong to Russians?).
In the end he had to leave Russia and many people were hurt, particularly one of his Russian lawyers, Sergei Magnitsky, who was imprisoned, tortured and eventually killed. His death had a strong impact on Browder, who redirected his life towards fighting against human rights abuses.
His most significant impact was the passage of the Magnitsky law both in the US and in the EU. That law prohibits entry into the US (and the EU) to the specific people who were involved in the abuses documented by Browder.
The story is well written, exciting to read and - most of all - inspiring!
In the past 24 hours I’ve read a must read. Bill Browder’s Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It reads like a John le Carré novel, except it is non-fiction. It starts out as the autobiography of Bill Browder and his creation of a massively successful hedge fund (Hermitage Capital Management) that was one of the first non-Russian investors in Russia in the mid to late 1990s. It then shifted into an incredibly complex story of intrigue, corruption, lawlessness, injustice, and murder all at the hands of the Russian political system.
I know that was a mouthful, but if you want a little taste, just read the Wikipedia page for Sergei Magnitsky which is central to the second half of the book, where Browder shifts from successful financier to international human rights activist. If you want a taste, watch the following interview with Browder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7kwIkdcQlo
Amy and I just finished watching The Night Manager on Amazon, which was based on John le Carré novel by the same name. I’m an optimistic person and I tend to bury my cynicism in what I read and the movies I watch. My optimism holds that the good guys eventually come out on top. I’m going to keep holding onto that notion while doing the little bit I can to help impact that outcome, especially when it means supporting people like Bill Browder. While I don’t know him, if he ever called and asked for anything, I’d be immediately responsive.
If you are looking for a powerful read over the holidays, I’d put Bill Browder’s Red Notice at the top of the list.
I know that was a mouthful, but if you want a little taste, just read the Wikipedia page for Sergei Magnitsky which is central to the second half of the book, where Browder shifts from successful financier to international human rights activist. If you want a taste, watch the following interview with Browder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7kwIkdcQlo
Amy and I just finished watching The Night Manager on Amazon, which was based on John le Carré novel by the same name. I’m an optimistic person and I tend to bury my cynicism in what I read and the movies I watch. My optimism holds that the good guys eventually come out on top. I’m going to keep holding onto that notion while doing the little bit I can to help impact that outcome, especially when it means supporting people like Bill Browder. While I don’t know him, if he ever called and asked for anything, I’d be immediately responsive.
If you are looking for a powerful read over the holidays, I’d put Bill Browder’s Red Notice at the top of the list.