The Liar's Ball - by Vicky Ward (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Harry Macklowe is one of the most notorious wheelers and dealers of the real estate world, and Liar's Ball is the story of the gamblers and thieves who populate his world. Watch as Harry makes the gutsy bid for midtown Manhattan's famous GM building and put almost no money down, landing the billion-dollar transaction that made him the poster child for New York's real estate royalty. Listen in on the secret conversations, back-door deals, and blackmail that put Macklowe and his cronies on top--and set them up for an enormous fall.

Vanity Fair contributing editor Vicky Ward skillfully paints the often scandalous picture of the giants who owned the New York skyline until their empires came crumbling down in the 2008 financial crisis. Based on more than 200 interviews with real estate moguls like Donald Trump, William Zeckendorf, Mort Zuckerman, and David Simon, Liar's Ball is the never-before-told story of the egomaniacal elites of New York City. Read about:

• The epic rise and fall of one of the richest American real estate barons
• Outlandish greed and cravings for power, attention, and love
• Relationships built and destroyed by vanity and gossip
• The bursting of the real estate bubble and its aftermath

This is no fiction--this is a real life tale of extravagance, ambition, and power. Harry Macklowe ruthlessly clawed his way to the top with the help of his loyal followers, each grubbing for a piece of the real estate pie. Liar's Ball reveals their secrets and tells the tale of business as usual for this group--lying, backstabbing, and moving in for the kill when things look patchy. From the bestselling author of The Devil's Casino comes an expos on the real estate elite that you'll hardly believe.

From the Back Cover

The Liar's Ball is about the desperate scramble that ensued when the world's most expensive building went on the auction block. The iconic GM Building brought out the best and worst in New York's real estate royalty, and led a few of them to ruin. But as author and former Vanity Fair contributing editor Vicky Ward discovered, the story of the GM Building is about much more than real estate.

The Liar's Ball is a story of naked, unregulated capitalism, of the sometimes bloody free-for-all of the free market. It's a tale of brilliant and enormously ambitious billionaires fighting bare-knuckled to get what they want. And they all wanted the GM Building.

Through over 200 interviews with real estate's best and brightest--Donald Trump, Harry Macklowe, Samuel Zell, Mort Zuckerman, and many more--New York Times bestselling author Vicky Ward exposes the lies and schemes and insecurities behind the deals made by some of the world's biggest egos. The Liar's Ball is the riveting real-life tale of just how far these people would go to get the money, power, and attention they so desperately crave.

Review Quotes

"... grippingly readable." (Daily Mail, January 2015)

"... an enjoyably racy book." (Estates Gazette, October 2014)

About the Author

VICKY WARD is the New York-based, British-born author of the New York Times bestseller The Devil's Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, and the High-Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers (Wiley, 2010). A former contributing editor to Vanity Fair for 11 years, she is the former executive editor of Talk magazine and the former news features editor of the New York Post. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, The Times (London), and the Daily Telegraph. She holds a master's in English literature from Cambridge University.