Gary Stevenson tells the story of his meteoric rise from a working-class neighborhood in East London to the top tiers of global finance. After winning a simulated trading competition (“The Trading Game”) at the London School of Economics, he lands a job at Citibank, one of the world’s top investment banks.
In the book, Stevenson portrays the trading world as high-stakes, cutthroat, and morally hollow — a place where immense wealth is generated for a few while deepening inequality for the rest. Despite making millions, he finds himself disillusioned, isolated, and increasingly disturbed by the system he’s part of. His “confession” is not just about financial excess, but a searing critique of economic injustice and the toxic culture of profit at all costs.
The book ends with his decision to quit finance altogether and dedicate his life to public economic education, aiming to challenge inequality and make economics understandable to all.
