Billion Dollar Whale

Billion Dollar Whale tells the incredible story of Jho Low, a Malaysian man who committed one of the biggest heists of the century by defrauding a national investment fund.

Jho Low was a pudgy and shy 17-year-old when he started his first year at the prestigious Harrow School in England. With tuition of around $16,000 a term, it was a place that educated children of the elite. Two of Low’s classmates included the heirs to the thrones of Brunei and Kuwait.

Low wasn’t actually poor himself, as his family was worth around $15 million. But in comparison to his classmates, he was a small fry, and this bothered him. So to keep up appearances, he began to lie.

When some friends visited his home in Malaysia, he rented a local billionaire’s home and yacht. He even went as far as to replace the photographs in the home with his own family’s. It worked, and soon people at school knew him as the “prince of Malaysia.”

One of his classmates, Riza Aziz, was the stepson of Malaysia’s defense minister, Najib Razak. He was known for being corrupt. Aziz told him about his stepdad and how he would give licenses for kickbacks.

Low soon felt that if those in power were taking what they wanted, he wanted his cut too. He knew from experience that his lying could open doors for him. All he needed was the right opportunity. So he left for the United States to find one.

At Wharton, Low spent most of his time forging connections with those he thought would help him rise to power. One of these was Hamad al-Wazzan, the son of a Kuwaiti construction tycoon. After forging a friendship, he joined Wazzan on a trip around the Gulf States, where he met many important people. One of these was Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak, the wealthy director of Mubadala, a state-owned investment company. So when the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional searched for partners to invest in an economic zone designed to foster investment, Low reached out to Mubarak. A few days later, he presented an offer to Khazanah for a $500 million investment from Mubadala. Low decided not to take credit for the deal. Instead, he let Najib Razak, a Malaysian politician he knew, do so. It was a master move because Najib was desperate to advance his political career and was looking for credentials, and Low made a mighty friend in his home country. Soon, Najib Razak became Prime Minister of Malaysia, and Low was sitting pretty. However, Najib was desperate to restore his party’s waning popularity, and he went to Low for help. Low asked for control of his own investment fund. So…