The Millionaires' Factory
The Inside Story Of How Macquarie Bank Became A Global Giant
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4.1 • 10 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The extraordinary and revealing story of the Australian bank that took on the world, and the culture that lies behind its entrepreneurial approach.
Finalist in the General Business Book of the Year category of the 2023 Australian Business Book Awards
Macquarie is everywhere. As an investment bank, a commodities player and an international leader in infrastructure fund management, Macquarie has inserted itself into your life somehow, no matter where in the world you're reading this book.
The Millionaires' Factory lifts the lid on this unique banking success story, from its origins in Australia in 1969 to its presence in 33 markets today. It identifies the big decisions that have allowed the bank to thrive where others have floundered, and the unique Macquarie ability to spot a niche few others can see. It also uncovers the dramas, the turf fights, the scandals and the failures, as well as the supercharged salaries and bonuses that earned them the nickname 'the millionaires' factory'.
Drawing on their interviews with Macquarie CEOs and senior managers past and present, journalists Joyce Moullakis and Chris Wright explain the culture that drives Macquarie: its unique 'loose-tight' approach to risk, its empowerment of individual staff to try new things, and its knack for turning market calamities into opportunities. Markets move and Macquarie has reinvented itself time and again as they do so, but one thing never changes: it's seldom on the wrong side of a deal.
'For readers who want to understand a fascinating financial institution and how it succeeds where so many rivals falter, The Millionaires' Factory comes recommended.' - The Financial Times
'The Millionaires' Factory lays bare the good and bad about Australia's millionaire manufacturer.' The Conversation
'A fascinating account of how a successful financial institution with a global footprint can grow through good and bad times, because of the quality of its people.' -Don Argus AC, Member of the Australian Advisory Council of Bank of America
'Joyce and Chris have brilliantly captured and woven together an exceptional account of an Australian and global financial success story.' -Steve Harker AM, former CEO of Morgan Stanley Australia
Customer Reviews
Big Mac
4.5 stars
This unauthorised biography of Australia’s premier investment bank, and innovator on the global stage, draws on more than a hundred interviews with Macquarie employees and those close to them, both past and present. The local branch of now obscure British investment bank Hill Samuel started operations in Sydney in 1969 with six employees and grew throughout the 1970s thanks to the drive and creativity of a series of legendary names in Australian banking. By the early 1980s, it was more valuable than the parent company. By exploiting the Hawke-Keating reforms of the 1980s, Macquarie was reborn as a fully fledged bank in its own right and quickly became the world leader in infrastructure finance. Indeed, it could be argued that Macquarie invented infrastructure finance. The authors guide us through to the present day in what might be termed a warts and all view except that most warts have been relatively minor. As I write this review, Macquarie has a market capitalisation a shade under $50bn and employs more than 17000 people in 33 markets across the globe. The quality of its management is second to none. Every CEO has come from in-house.
The writing is crisp and clear. As a long term Macquarie customer and investor, in both the bank and its various investment vehicles, I found this fascinating. Mileage may vary if you’re not, and if you’re hoping for dirt, you’ll probably be disappointed.