The Liar's Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How One Building Broke the World's Toughest Tycoons

by Vicky Ward

Overview

Inside the world of the real Great Gatsby of New York real estate

Harry Macklowe is one of the most notorious wheelers and dealers of the real estate world, and Liar's Ball is the story of the gamblers and thieves who populate his world. Watch as Harry makes the gutsy bid for midtown Manhattan's famous GM building and put almost no money down, landing the billion-dollar transaction that made him the poster child for New York's real estate royalty. Listen in on the secret conversations, back-door deals, and blackmail that put Macklowe and his cronies on top—and set them up for an enormous fall.

Vanity Fair contributing editor Vicky Ward skillfully paints the often scandalous picture of the giants who owned the New York skyline until their empires came crumbling down in the 2008 financial crisis. Based on more than 200 interviews with real estate moguls like Donald Trump, William Zeckendorf, Mort Zuckerman, and David Simon, Liar's Ball is the never-before-told story of the egomaniacal elites of New York City. Read about:

• The epic rise and fall of one of the richest American real estate barons
• Outlandish greed and cravings for power, attention, and love
• Relationships built and destroyed by vanity and gossip
• The bursting of the real estate bubble and its aftermath

This is no fiction—this is a real life tale of extravagance, ambition, and power. Harry Macklowe ruthlessly clawed his way to the top with the help of his loyal followers, each grubbing for a piece of the real estate pie. Liar's Ball reveals their secrets and tells the tale of business as usual for this group—lying, backstabbing, and moving in for the kill when things look patchy. From the bestselling author of The Devil's Casino comes an exposé on the real estate elite that you'll hardly believe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118295311
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	10/27/2014
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	414,146
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

VICKY WARD is the New York-based, British-born author of the New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, and the High-Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers (Wiley, 2010). A former contributing editor to Vanity Fair for 11 years, she is the former executive editor of Talk magazine and the former news features editor of the New York Post. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, The Times (London), and the Daily Telegraph. She holds a master’s in English literature from Cambridge University.

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Table of Contents

Preface ix

Cast of Characters xi

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 Stealing the Spotlight 1

Chapter 2 Alpha Males 11

Chapter 3 The Rigged Bid 21

Chapter 4 Harry’s Hero 37

Chapter 5 The Odd Couple: The English Lord and the Housewife Tycoon 49

Chapter 6 The Age of the Wolf 65

Chapter 7 Donald Trump’s Bag Man 79

Chapter 8 The Money Hunters and the Salesman from Indianapolis 91

Chapter 9 Donald’s “Force Majeure” 103

Chapter 10 Paradise, Briefly 109

Chapter 11 Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride 117

Chapter 12 Tick Tock—A Year on the Clock 129

Chapter 13 The Fall That Wasn’t 145

Chapter 14 Aftermath 153

Note about the Sources 157

Acknowledgments 159

Notes 161

Bibliography 231

About the Author 233

Index 235