For someone who rails against the inequities of modern capitalism, Gary Stevenson sure does spend a lot of time boasting about the money he made on the trading floor.
For many fans of the trader-turned-inequality-campaigner, Stevenson’s self-proclaimed success on Citigroup’s foreign exchange desk is precisely what has made him such a compelling critic of the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Stevenson’s straight-talking videos have earned him legions of followers online. His recent memoir, The Trading Game, has become a best-seller, and just last month made the longlist for a business book prize in a certain salmon pink-coloured newspaper.
Having made millions at one of the biggest investment banks in the world, the son of a Post Office worker from the east London suburb of Ilford certainly has a knack for describing the cloistered world of big banks in terms anyone could understand. Here’s a flavour from a typically four-letter-word-filled recent interview: