# Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis - Hardcover

by **Scott Patterson** (Author)

****A**** _**Wall Street Journal**_ **bestseller**

******Written by a veteran _Wall Street Journal_ reporter, this is a fascinating deep dive into the world of billion-dollar traders and high-stakes crisis predictors who strive to turn extreme events into financial windfalls.****

There's no doubt that our world has gotten more extreme. Pandemics, climate change, superpower rivalries, cyberattacks, political radicalization--virtually, everywhere we look there is mayhem bearing down on us, putting trillions of assets at risk.

And at least two factions have formed around how to respond. In _Chaos Kings_, Scott Patterson depicts how one faction, led by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, bestselling author of _The Black Swan,_ believes humans can never see the big disaster coming. In their view, extreme events--so-called Black Swans--while inevitable, will always catch us by surprise. In 2007, Taleb's longtime collaborator, Mark Spitznagel, launched the Universa hedge fund, which would go on to make billions protecting investors against unforeseen chaos in the market.

A second faction, which relies on complex formulas, believes looming chaos _can_ be detected. Chief among these risk prognosticators is Didier Sornette, a colorful French mathematician who enjoys riding his motorcycle at speeds in excess of 170 miles per hour. When Sornette looks out from what he calls his Financial Crisis Observatory in Zurich, Switzerland, what he sees are Dragon Kings--punishing events that are unlikely to occur but have probabilities that can be predicted...and defended against.

Which faction is right? All of our financial futures may depend on the answer.**

### Author Biography

Scott Patterson has been a reporter for nearly two decades, mostly at _The_ _Wall Street Journal_ in New York City; Washington, DC; and London. Most recently, he has been focused on the negative impacts of climate change and their effect on the financial system. His 2010 _New York Times_ bestseller _The Quants_ was about the rise of mathematical traders and their near destruction of the financial system. His second book, _Dark Pools_, exposed high-frequency trading risks and was lauded by a pantheon of financial writers, including James Stewart and Michael Lewis. A winner of the Loeb Breaking News Award, Patterson has made frequent appearances in the media, including on CNBC, _The Daily Show_, and _Fresh Air_. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and son.

**Number of Pages:** 336

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 9 x 5.9 IN

**Publication Date:** June 06, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 30.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 30.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/chaos-kings-how-wall-street-traders-make-billions-in-the-new-age-of-crisis-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-23