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1-Page Summary of Billion Dollar Whale
Overview
Jho Low wasn’t poor, but he was desperate to fit in. He wanted to be like the other wealthy kids at his elite private school in London. So, he began styling himself as a “prince.” At university in America, Low cultivated influential friends and used those connections to get involved with a construction deal that made him rich back home. Once he had money and power, Jho Low lived lavishly while stealing money from the Malaysian government—a crime that led to its downfall.
Wharton, the oldest business school in America, offers a deal to prospective students: you can pay $50,000 a year for a crash course on capitalism. However, Jho Low wasn’t there to study – he wanted access to wealthy families.
He understood the value of his education at Penn State. He got to know people who helped him get into a shady business that allowed him to make money through connections with politicians, fixers and sheiks. These contacts helped him become involved in a deal that would help improve the lives of regular Malaysians.
A 28-year-old with no business experience pulled off the largest heist of all time. How did he do it? What was his motive? And how did they catch him?
Throughout the book, you will learn how Jho Low perfected the art of deception as a schoolboy. You’ll also read about why Leonardo DiCaprio couldn’t say no to his offer to fund his movie. And you’ll find out how Low’s theft ended up toppling one of Asia’s longest-serving ruling parties.
Big Idea #1: Jho Low learned the art of deception at school. He was trying to keep up with his wealthy peers, and he would do anything to fit in.
This is a story about how one man, Jho Low, defrauded people of billions of dollars. It all started when he went to Harrow School in London. Founded in 1572, Harrow charges $15000 per term for students and has produced 7 British Prime Ministers as well as 6 Middle Eastern Monarchs. When Low arrived at the school that year, he met other wealthy kids from Brunei and Kuwait who would later become his victims.
Low was not poor, but he wasn’t as rich as his classmates. His family had around $15 million in assets and lived in a modernist mansion with palm trees surrounding it. Low knew that his family’s wealth wasn’t impressive compared to the other students at Harrow school.
The author had to lie about his status in school so that he could fit in. He would rent a house and yacht for the weekend, replace photos of the real owners with his own family pictures, and then tell his friends that it was all his. Eventually, they started referring to him as a prince from Malaysia, even though he wasn’t one at all.
To boost his credentials, Low began taking greater risks. In his final year of university, he used a letter from Brunei’s embassy to get into an exclusive London nightclub and party with Premier League soccer players and models.
But Low’s behavior was motivated by more than just greed. It was a direct result of the moral relativism he’d learned at his school. One of his friends, Riza Aziz, had grown up with Najib Razak, Malaysia’s defense minister who was known for taking kickbacks in exchange for government contracts. Low learned that if everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t he? He’d already seen how power and prestige can lead to opportunities; all he needed now was an opening. After graduating from college in 2000, Low set off to find one in the United States.
Big Idea #2: Low’s networking skills helped him get a job in Abu Dhabi, and he eventually became the CEO of Gulf States.
In 2001, Low enrolled at the business-focused Wharton School in Philadelphia. While he was intelligent and had a promising future, he neglected his studies to focus on partying. He threw lavish parties that involved sushi served on dancers wearing nothing but lettuce-leaf bikinis with champagne flowing freely. Soon enough, students were calling him the “Asian Great Gatsby” because of his extravagant lifestyle.
