I read a lot of ‘capitalists behaving badly’ books, and this was stunning even by those standards.

It’s an interesting companion to The Big Myth in that it details exactly how wealthy private equity convinces governments and regulators that it’s a force for good in the world, while that’s only true for the bank balances of the owners of the funds.

The first half of the book is focused on a single case study, Apollo Global Management and Executive Life Insurance, which has resulted in fines and penalties, though still leaving the policyholders shortchanged. The book feels at points like it is about to go into a drawn-out David and Goliath legal drama, but thankfully it wraps that up and moves onto other examples (often involving the same players and/or tactics).

The book also digs into how private equity exploits the US Healthcare system, public utilities, and more. Parts of this reminded me of Brian Alexander‘s The Hospital and Glass House.

Morgenson and Rosner are pretty clearly liberals, and their writing style indicates a clear cynicism of modern capitalism. This isn’t a left wing/right wing thing though. These vultures are operating outside the regulated market for a reason, and the authors clearly detail illegal, fraudulent and manipulative activity that even the staunchest free-market ideologue should find gross.

The book wraps up on a cautiously optimistic note — the authors look at recent actions by regulators and governments to improve compliance and disclosure by private equity, and while they aren’t always successful, progress seems to be happening.

It’s a quick read, and it’ll make you mad.