Trillions

Praise for Trillions:“A magisterial, delightfully written history offering up portraits of the academic scribblers and entrepreneurial practitioners who created the index-fund revolution. It also contains common-sense wisdom that will benefit all investors… With consummate skill, he brings to life the eggheads and the “iconoclastic” investors who guided indexing through its difficult birth pangs and oversaw its exponential development…A rip-roaring yarn.”—The Wall Street Journal “​​With well-researched accumulation of one story after another, Wigglesworth brings to life how all aspects of investing have been transformed by indexation….But Wigglesworth manages to bring life to even well raked-over events, such as the boardroom bust-up that led to the birth of Vanguard or BlackRock’s “deal of the decade” acquisition…[a] first-rate book.” —The Financial Times“A thoroughly reported and engaging account, featuring characters including the indomitable John “Jack” Bogle, founder of the Vanguard fund powerhouse, Larry Fink, architect of the even-larger BlackRock, and Louis Bachelier, a French mathematician whose 1900 PhD thesis made an early contribution to the academic underpinnings of passive investing…an enjoyable read.”—Reuters“Entertaining and educational. Wigglesworth explores one of the most important modern-day financial innovations, bringing what could be a dull topic to full life.”—Gregory Zuckerman, special writer at the Wall Street Journal and author of The Greatest Trade Ever and The Man Who Solved the Market “As only the incomparable Robin Wigglesworth could do, this book turns the often obscured history of the investment industry into a rollicking great yarn.” —William Cohan, special correspondent at Vanity Fair and author of The Last Tycoons, House of Cards, Money and Power, and Four Friends “Wigglesworth has turned this arcane tale into an easy-to-understand and fun read, full of lively characters and little known details of how finance works today. Anyone who wants to understand modern investing should read this book.” —Gillian Tett, chair of the editorial board and US editor-at-large at the Financial Times and author of Fool’s Gold and The Silo Effect “Very few writers can tell a great story and help us understand a big idea. Wigglesworth is one of those rare journalists who can.” —Rana Foroohar, global business columnist at the Financial Times and author of Makers and Takers and Don’t Be Evil “A tour de force.” —Mohamed El Erian, Chief Economic Adviser of Allianz and author of When Markets Collide and The Only Game in Town “In Wigglesworth’s hands, the greatest change in investing in the last 100 years is brought to life like never before. A page turner!” —Fred Grauer, former CEO of Wells Fargo Investment Advisors/Barclays Global Investors “Wigglesworth is one of the most lucid and exciting journalists writing about finance today. This book tackles the enormous changes that have swept the investing world through the stories of its charismatic innovators.” —Bradley Hope, writer at Project Brazen and author of Billion Dollar Whale

Robin Wigglesworth is the global finance correspondent at the Financial Times. He focuses on the biggest trends reshaping markets, investing, and finance more broadly across the world, and writing longer-form features, analyses, profiles and columns. Before joining the Financial Times in 2008 he worked at Bloomberg News.