um book club: rigged - part 1 at Urban Monarch

um book club: rigged - part 1

09Jan08

by Cash

Next Assignment

Pages: 73-141
Due: Wednesday January 16th

Part I
pages 1 - 72
Characters (there are a ton of characters, I will break them out by apparent “Main” and “Secondary” roles)

MAIN

Anthony Giovanni - Chairman, NYMEX. David Russo’s idol and eventual boss.
David Russo - Protagonist, Harvard MBA, born / raised in Brooklyn, Italian-American
Dominick “The Don” Gallo - Biggest trader on the floor, part of NYMEX since start, $300 million fortune
Khaled Abdul - Nephew to Sheik Oman, part of royal UAE bloodline
Nick Reston - President (youngest ever) of NYMEX. Mentor / guide to Russo
Sheik Oman - Mideast oil baron, Khaled’s unkle

SECONDARY

Alex Mendelson - NYMEX board member, former trader, 1969 Harvard grad
Ali Aqha - Sheik Oman’s bodyguard, friend to Khaled Abdul
Harriet Farelli - Giovanni’s secretary
Jim Rosa - Trader
Joey Bunetti - Trader
Michael Vitzolli - 24 year old trader, $500K Profit in one morning
Minister Hakim Al Wazali - Deputy finance minister (UAE)
Serena - David Russo’s south American girlfriend
Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum - Emir of Dubai

My initial thoughts are that Khaled and David are going to become friends and eventual business partners. I like the dynamic between the old stalwart power of The Don and the typical ‘let’s outsource/improve efficency/get greedier’ motivations of Nick and some of the up and comers. There are going to be fireworks between them I’d imagine.

Having worked many years for Merrill Lynch myself, I can say the description of the company’s set up (and NYC office environment specifically) is dead on. Having seen the NYSE floor when I worked for them, and the chaos present, it’s hard to imagine that vibe taken up to the next level of the NYMEX (fist fights?!).

Questions for discussion:

Nick Reston; eventual ally of David?
Is the eventual ‘revolution’ hinted at in the book’s synopsis going to be around oil money being used to build the Dubai financial / resort empire we’re currently seeing developed there?
Will the Don’s power remain intact?

Obviously, comment away with any thoughts of your own as well.

Filed under: Book Club | Author: Cash |

3 Responses to “um book club: rigged - part 1”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address

1 Greg on Jan 9th, 2008 said:

To answer the questions:

I am fully on board with nick and david being allies. I have no clues about the revolution. And, hmmmm, maybe!

I also like the various casino gambling references. My favorite was when David was talking about making his salary the hard way at Merrill Lynch.

Are all Ben Mezrich books about young kids doing things with crazy money?
2 Cash on Jan 9th, 2008 said:

Aaah Greg, great point on the casino references. I noticed that too. I think Mezrich has found a pretty good niche, and having the connections at his alma mater (Harvard) doesn’t hurt I’m sure.
3 goat on Jan 11th, 2008 said:

all the excessive 9/11 references were getting to be a little too much for me.

enjoying the overall story sofar. it’s entertaining to remember what it’s like getting into the financial sector and how absurd things really are from the outside.

totally agree with the implied tone of the story about anyone can get a job. but in order to get a really good one you need equal parts luck, willingness to take a risk, and some way to make yourself stand out from the rest of the applicants around you.

wait.. am i talking about jobs or dating?