The Billionaire's Apprentice

The Rise of The Indian-American Elite and The Fall of The Galleon Hedge Fund

By: Anita Raghavan

Narrated by: Dan Woren

Just as WASPs, Irish-Catholics and Our Crowd Jews once made the ascent from immigrants to powerbrokers, it is now the Indian-American's turn. Citigroup, PepsiCo and Mastercard are just a handful of the Fortune 500 companies led by a group known as the "Twice Blessed." Yet little is known about how these Indian emigres (and children of emigres) rose through the ranks. Until now...

The collapse of the Galleon Group--a hedge fund that managed more than $7 billion in assets--from criminal charges of insider trading was a sensational case that pitted prosecutor Preet Bharara, himself the son of Indian immigrants, against the best and brightest of the South Asian business community. At the center of the case was self-described King of Kings, Galleon's founder Raj Rajaratnam, a Sri-Lankan-born, Wharton-educated billionaire. But the most shocking allegation was that the éminence grise of Indian business, Rajat Gupta, was Rajaratnam's accomplice and mole. If not for Gupta's nose-to-the-grindstone rise to head up McKinsey & Co and a position on the Goldman Sachs board, men like Rajaratnam would have never made it to the top of America's moneyed elite.

Author Anita Raghavan criss-crosses the globe from Wall Street boardrooms to Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology as she uncovers the secrets of this subculture--an incredible tale of triumph, temptation and tragedy.

Great book

Well written and narrated. Captures the GFC and the inner workings of Galleon. The inner workings of a hedge fund and dealings with consultants

fascinating account of inside wall street

well-documented, including the personalities and histories of the main players, well read, loved this book!

Good book, mediocre reading

Good book. But quit trying to do an Indian accent when voicing South Asian people. It is irritating and unnecessary. I have met Rengan Rajaratnam and he has no such accent. Just read.

enjoyed it

very thorough narrative and the cop and thief style story telling kept me interested all the time. The difference in attitudes of south Asians who came in the boat to the ones who grew up here was interesting and well brought out.

Fascinating Story--Well-told

Would you listen to The Billionaire's Apprentice again? Why?

No--I only listen to a book once. I have so many to listen to that I would not have time to re-listen.
Also, I find that when I listen to a book I comprehend so much more of it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Raj Gupta--I had just finished listening to a book about McKinsey, his former employer, and was fascinated by how such a successful and beloved person could have done what he did to get convicted.

Have you listened to any of Dan Woren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The convictions of the two major characters.

Any additional comments?

This book was so well-written that it "read" like a novel. The detail of how the Indian elite conquered business in the U.S., and how some of them fell, was fascinating. One of my favorite books from 2013.