The man who looked into the ‘actual beating heart’ of the financial system—and saw something ‘profoundly dangerous’
Robin Wigglesworth, author of index-fund history "Trillions," is back with a thousand-year-look at bonds in "A Fabulous Debt."
In October 2021, Robin Wigglesworth, the Financial Times' global finance correspondent based in Norway, published Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever. The Wall Street Journal praised the book as a "magisterial, delightfully written history." The book delves into the creation and impact of index funds, tracing the history back to 19th-century French mathematician Louis Bachelier.
Wigglesworth's new work, A Fabulous Debt, covers America's $40 trillion national debt, spanning a thousand years, from medieval Venice to the modern day. The bond market, he explains, is a crucial aspect of the financial system, often described as the "hidden wiring of the world." Wigglesworth highlights how bonds played a significant role in various historical conflicts, such as the War of Jenkins' Ear, and how they enabled England to fund its military campaigns against larger adversaries.
He also emphasizes the role of the Erie Canal in the development of the municipal bonds market, which ultimately shaped the growth of New York City and the United States.
Written by urgent.news from Fortune's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
