“Someone wants me out of the way. Someone desperately wants me out of the way. I don’t know who and I don’t know why, but I am about to find out.”

These are not the words you would expect at the beginning of a book written by a financier about his experiences.

As a finance professional for over 30 years, I have always been deeply interested in books on the subject. I particularly enjoy the human angle – stories about those who have succeeded in this field and the paths they took. The most engaging books tend to be written in a candid manner, opening up the minds of the protagonists for the reader to feel both the pressure and the euphoria of the fast-paced life of Wall Street.

Most of the books I have come across have been written by authors of Western origin, who grew up in a culture and system that almost naturally leads them towards careers on Wall Street. I always felt there was a gap in the market for voices from other regions.

Wall Street is also home to many expatriates who have built successful careers in New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Imagine my surprise when, while walking through the DIFC in Dubai, I saw signage for a book launch event for The Money Trap by Alok Sama.

I was pleased for two reasons. First, here was finally a person of Subcontinental origin, with a successful career in finance, sharing his life and experiences. Second, I actually knew of Alok nearly a quarter of a century ago. At that time, I was a young associate in the mergers and acquisitions team at Morgan Stanley in London, while Alok was a star managing director specialising in the European telecom sector.

I had wanted to connect with him, given our similar heritage and the fact that we were alumni of the same business school. However, I was told he was rather arrogant and didn’t mix much with desis. In hindsight, it’s quite likely these were unfair descriptions of him, but I was so inundated with work that I never found the time to reach out to him – even though our offices were on the same floor. I often saw him pacing the corridors, immersed in deep thought. No doubt contemplating multi-billion-dollar mergers, I used to think.

Alok went on to achieve significant success, including serving as the CFO of SoftBank – one of the world’s most prominent and largest venture capital investors. SoftBank has a storied history, beginning with its game-changing investment in Yahoo Japan at the peak of the dot-com boom 25 years ago. Since then, it has backed some of the most successful companies in the world, including Uber, Sprint, Alibaba and Airbnb. Of course, it has also had its share of controversy, such as its investments in WeWork and Greensill Capital.

This, however, is the nature of venture capital: you take high risk on a wide range of companies. While most fail, the few that succeed provide massive returns that more than compensate for the losses. SoftBank’s Vision Fund – set up in partnership with the royal families of Saudi Arabia and the UAE – has also made headlines, and Alok was in the thick of it as SoftBank navigated its exciting path.

It paints a vivid picture of the larger-than-life characters that dominate the world of finance.

Alok then took some time off from his high-flying career to study writing at New York University. His finely tuned writing skills are evident in The Money Trap, which is both engaging and fast-paced. His style suggests that his heart might lie in writing murder thrillers or action-packed stories.

The book is filled with vivid descriptions, such as a “interiors were tastefully…a soothing combination of light beige leather and honey bird’s-eye maple…cabin included a separate sleeping chamber with an en suite half bath, a dining or meeting area…four fully reclining seats, each supplied with a burgundy Loro Piana cashmere blanket...” which brings the narrative to life.

The book begins with Alok’s childhood as the son of a doctor in India. He then moves to the United States to study, eventually working at Wall Street banks across Asia, the US and Europe. He shares stories of the eccentric personalities he encountered along the way – some of whom I also knew during my career. His time at SoftBank, which represents the zenith of the investment world, is particularly fascinating.

Alok captures the driving force behind the world of finance: greed. In this world, it’s never enough – you could be worth tens of millions, execute multi-billion-dollar transactions and yet still feel unsatisfied. This relentless pursuit often comes at the cost of health and personal life. He illustrates how millions and billions are tossed around casually, with bonuses for top professionals often exceeding the annual earnings of entire villages in other parts of the world. And yet, somehow, it’s never enough.

The book delves into the creation of SoftBank’s Vision Fund and the bold decisions made by its visionary founder, Masayoshi Son. Alok describes how multi-billion-dollar investments were sometimes made on a whim, despite discomfort among SoftBank’s professionals. He recounts the extravagance of the corporate lifestyle – private jets, luxury hotels – while also shedding light on the internal conflicts and eventual controversies that led to his own ousting from the company.

At its core, the book raises compelling questions about global finance. It highlights how outsiders can carve out a space on Wall Street, yet contrasts this with the stark reality that, while capital moves freely across borders, it primarily benefits the elite.

If I had one bone to pick with the book, it would be that while Alok builds considerable tension around an unknown party tracking his and his family’s movements, the resolution of this narrative thread does not quite match the level of crisis and suspense that had been building.

The Money Trap is a fast read – engaging and highly entertaining. It paints a vivid picture of the larger-than-life characters that dominate the world of finance. Based on my own limited exposure, I can attest that many of the book’s assertions accurately reflect how this industry operates. For anyone interested in understanding the personalities and decision-making processes at the highest levels of finance, Alok Sama’s book is an excellent starting point.

The Money Trap

Author: Alok Sama

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, 2024

Pages: 304, Hardback

The reviewer is a finance professional based in Dubai. He tweets @travelutionary1