Spiderweb Capitalism - by Kimberly Kay Hoang

About the Book

"In 2015, an anonymous source leaked the so-called Panama Papers, 11.5 million documents detailing financial and attorney-client information and connecting over 140 ultra-wealthy individuals across 50 countries to offshore companies in 21 tax havens. Journalists and scholars have attempted to chart these complex networks in the wake of various scandals but have learned very little. The focus on high-profile cases of egregious theft leaves a shroud of uncertainty over the mechanics behind the invisible, mundane networks of people who facilitate illicit activities by conducting transactions across multiple sovereigns. Playing in the Gray focuses on the constant and quiet movement of money through offshore shell corporations, the primary motor of global capital. Hoang takes a deep-dive into the emerging markets of Vietnam and Myanmar. Over the course of two years, she travelled more than 350,000 miles to conduct ethnographic observations and interviews with 300 individuals who facilitate the movement of capital around the world. Her research subjects include private wealth managers, fund managers, chairpeople, local entrepreneurs, high-level executives, lawyers, bankers, auditors, and company secretaries, each playing an essential role in circulating concealed capital through global markets. She draws on this data to develop a new framework for understanding what she calls spiderweb capitalism, which she defines as a system that features a complex web of subsidiaries that are interconnected across multiple sovereigns and are virtually impossible to quantify. She argues that legal and illegal activity are in fact deeply connected in this web and provides an account of how financial elites make markets in the new globalized economy"--

Book Synopsis

A behind-the-scenes look at how the rich and powerful use offshore shell corporations to conceal their wealth and make themselves richer

In 2015, the anonymous leak of the Panama Papers brought to light millions of financial and legal documents exposing how the superrich hide their money using complex webs of offshore vehicles. Spiderweb Capitalism takes you inside this shadow economy, uncovering the mechanics behind the invisible, mundane networks of lawyers, accountants, company secretaries, and fixers who facilitate the illicit movement of wealth across borders and around the globe.

Kimberly Kay Hoang traveled more than 350,000 miles and conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews with private wealth managers, fund managers, entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, bankers, auditors, and other financial professionals. She traces the flow of capital from offshore funds in places like the Cayman Islands, Samoa, and Panama to special-purpose vehicles and holding companies in Singapore and Hong Kong, and how it finds its way into risky markets onshore in Vietnam and Myanmar. Hoang reveals the strategies behind spiderweb capitalism and examines the moral dilemmas of making money in legal, financial, and political gray zones.

Dazzlingly written, Spiderweb Capitalism sheds critical light on how global elites capitalize on risky frontier markets, and deepens our understanding of the paradoxical ways in which global economic growth is sustained through states where the line separating the legal from the corrupt is not always clear.

Review Quotes

"Winner of the Alice Amsden Book Award, Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics"

"A rich and fascinating account."-- "Administrative Science Quarterly"

"Winner of the Asia/Transnational Book Award, Asia and Asian America Section of the American Sociological Association"

"Winner of the Best Scholarly Book Award, Global and Transnational Section of the American Sociological Association"

"Winner of the PROSE Award for Excellence in Social Sciences, Association of American Publishers"

"Winner of the PROSE Award in Business, Finance, and Management, Association of American Publishers"

"A revealing look at how a secretive, often criminal element enables the rich to 'make and protect not only their money, but also their reputations.' . . . A work of true crime as much as scholarship, highly readable and maddening."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

Kimberly Kay Hoang is professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. She is the author of Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work.