Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals

by John Lefevre

"Some chick asked me what I would do with 10 million bucks. I told her I'd wonder where the rest of my money went."--@GSElevator

Over the past three years, the notorious @GSElevator Twitter feed has offered a hilarious, shamelessly voyeuristic look into the real world of international finance. Hundreds of thousands followed the account, Goldman Sachs launched an internal investigation, and when the true identity of the man behind it all was revealed, it created a national media sensation--but that's only part of the story.

Where @GSElevator captured the essence of the banking elite with curated jokes and submissions overheard by readers, Straight to hell adds John LeFevre's own story--an unapologetic and darkly funny account of a career as a globe-conquering investment banker spanning New York, London, and Hong Kong. Straight to Hell pulls back the curtain on a world that is both hated and envied, taking readers from the trading floors and roadshows to private planes and after-hours overindulgence. Full of shocking lawlessness, boyish antics, and win-at-all-costs schemes, this is the definitive take on the deviant, dysfunctional, and absolutely excessive world of finance.

• ISBN10: 0802123309
• ISBN13: 9780802123305
• Publish Date: 14 July 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[remo]

John Lefevre, autor de @GSElevator, nos cuenta su vida como jefe de la mesa de Syndicate de Citi Bank, en una aventura que le llevó a Londres y luego a Hong Kong.
El libro está muy, muy bien escrito. Narra las juergas continuas, los pisotones, las puñaladas por la espalda, el lujo y en general todos los tópicos atribuidos a los despreciables banqueros de Wall Street. Pero lo hace muy bien, oigan.

El autor oscila entre la autojustificación, el choteo y los consejos bienintencionados. Al final queda un relato sincero, plagado de frases bestias y anécdotas aún más bestias sobre gente sin ningún tipo de moral y con más dinero del que necesitan. Algunas frases que he subrayado:

As we see it, if you’re dumb enough to get caught cheating, you probably don’t belong on Wall Street

There’s no justice in this world—a valuable lesson to learn at a young age, especially if you want to end up on Wall Street

Who you know is as important as what you do and how you are perceived is more important than any reality.

El libro me ha encantado. Como muestra, el autor ofrece una de las muchas historias que cuenta en el libro (la más escatológica pero no necesariamente la más bestia): The Roadshow (aka The Worst Private Plane Trip Of All-Time)