"This jaw-dropping study shows how much money and global influence is concentrated in the hands of a tiny group... A remarkable book... As the authors roam from oilfield to wheatfield, they reveal information so staggering you almost gasp... The colour is fantastic... Tracking down some of the biggest names in the business to their German castles and stud farms and persuading them to talk is a rare scoop. --Sunday Times

"The commodity-traders who feature in The World For Sale are not the kind who yell orders at each other in the ring of the London Metal Exchange, [but instead] the small band of mostly private companies that move bulk commodities from there to here. It is a fascinating and revealing story, largely because of where "there" is: usually a place where many people would prefer not to do business, run by characters they would prefer not to do it with. A handful of swashbucklers became billionaires by overcoming such qualms... There are tales in the book of breathtaking trades, such as shipments of rebel oil from war-torn Libya or deals bartered amid the brutal "aluminium wars" in the Russia of the 1990s... The seeds of a sequel to this gripping book lie somewhere here." --The Economist

"Javier Blas and Jack Farchy probe the hard-knuckle and secretive world of commodity trading." --What to Read in 2021, Financial Times

"Blas and Farchy compellingly lay out how a handful of secretive traders have had a hand in directing not only the world's commodities, but also its politics and history. The World For Sale draws back the covers on a sector where civil wars, dubious regimes and the collapse of states have often been just another business opportunity -- and what that has meant for the rest of us. Intriguing and, at times, alarming." --Helen Thomas, Business Editor, BBC Newsnight

"A colorful and alarming exposé of the shadowy world of global commodity trading... Hair-raising anecdotes... An engrossing look at an obscure yet consequential corner of the financial world." --Publishers Weekly

"A virtuoso depiction of the globe's top oil, food and metals traders... Javier Blas and Jack Farchy should be awaiting the call from Hollywood. The World For Sale contains at least half a dozen narrative threads that would form the basis of a good thriller. But the authors' main achievement is to subject the biggest commodity players, and their impact on the real world, to proper critical scrutiny... The depth of the reporting by the Bloomberg journalists, who previously worked for the Financial Times, is impressive... Fascinating." –Reuters

"Some of the stories beggar belief... A fascinating story, it's just incredible some of the routes that the money takes." --Lawrence Pollard, BBC Newsday

"Could there be a better moment for Javier Blas and Jack Farchy's rollicking new account of [commodity] markets' recent history to land on investors' desks? ...This high level narrative is gripping enough. But it is the details of what these freewheeling companies actually got up to that give the book a thriller-like quality. The World For Sale opens with the private jet of [the late chief executive of Vitol] making corkscrew turns into Benghazi airport in 2011 so he can dodge hostile missiles and strike a deal to supply the rebel forces with oil in the middle of the Libyan civil war. That turns out to be one of the more conventional deals that pepper the narrative... Educational and entertaining..." --Felix Martin, Financial Times

"If you have the slightest interest in how the modern world was made, by whom, at what price, and at what profit, this is the book for you... Superbly researched and tidily written... A clean, compelling chronicle of the central role that commodity traders have played in the global economy from the end of World War II to the present. What they found isn't pretty -- but it's plenty illuminating. --Foreign Policy

"A highly readable study in world economics and a valuable primer for would-be oil barons." –Kirkus

"Blas and Farchy shine light on what's long been the financial market's darkest corner the crucial, yet underappreciated, role commodity traders play in global finance and geopolitics. The characters are fascinating and their impact cannot be understated. The World For Sale is a fascinating, eye-opening read." --Gregory Zuckerman, New York Times-bestselling author of The Man Who Solved the Market

"Javier Blas and Jack Farchy deftly peel back the curtain on the amoral swashbucklers of capitalism who trade in commodities natural resources like oil, coal and aluminium. The World For Sale is a gripping account of how they achieved their stranglehold over the world economy, and their troubling influence on global politics to this day." --Brad Stone, New York Times-bestselling author of The Everything Store

"The World For Sale is the definitive, eye-opening story of the most powerful and secretive traders in the world. These commodity traders, including all manner of cutthroats, eccentrics and amoral corruptors, play a major role in the global economy one that few people understand. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy illuminate it perfectly, helped by their decades of experience covering the beat from the ground up." --Bradley Hope, New York Times-bestselling author of Billion Dollar Whale