
The Asset Class
How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself
Hettie O'Brien(Author)
Grand Central Publishing
Will be published approx. on 23. June 2026
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-5387-6656-9 (ISBN)
Description
A thrilling, eye opening investigation into private equity, a secretive wing of the finance industry that is so relentlessly destructive, it could potentially undermine our way of life.
For decades, private equity firms have infiltrated every corner of modern life. Wielding debt as a weapon, they push vital services into crisis. Their cover story: that this is merely the "creative destruction" essential to growth. Old-school capitalists say they're dismantling everything that made our economies work. The name itself, "private equity," is its own kind of camouflage, giving no suggestion of the debt involved in its deals, nor of the controversial techniques it uses to generate profits.
The new owners think they can hide in the shadows. But the owned are fighting back. In The Asset Class, Hettie O'Brien penetrates a hidden empire of billion-dollar deals and covert financial warfare. From Copenhagen to San Francisco, Barcelona to the Yorkshire Dales, she follow the money, the trail of destruction, and the industry’s murky ideological roots from 1970s trips to Moscow to the present day.
What she find is chilling: private equity isn't just reshaping the economy—it's selling out the foundations of Western society.
For decades, private equity firms have infiltrated every corner of modern life. Wielding debt as a weapon, they push vital services into crisis. Their cover story: that this is merely the "creative destruction" essential to growth. Old-school capitalists say they're dismantling everything that made our economies work. The name itself, "private equity," is its own kind of camouflage, giving no suggestion of the debt involved in its deals, nor of the controversial techniques it uses to generate profits.
The new owners think they can hide in the shadows. But the owned are fighting back. In The Asset Class, Hettie O'Brien penetrates a hidden empire of billion-dollar deals and covert financial warfare. From Copenhagen to San Francisco, Barcelona to the Yorkshire Dales, she follow the money, the trail of destruction, and the industry’s murky ideological roots from 1970s trips to Moscow to the present day.
What she find is chilling: private equity isn't just reshaping the economy—it's selling out the foundations of Western society.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Little, Brown & Company
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
508 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5387-6656-9 (9781538766569)
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Schweitzer Classification