Called the “Indiana Jones” of international finance by Forbes magazine, Robert P. Smith is one of the world's most fearless financial adventurers. Over the past three decades, he has made, lost, and made back tens of millions of dollars by investing in emerging markets and downtrodden economies. Despite his unassuming presence, Smith has undertaken daunting risks, both physical and financial, and experienced adventures Hollywood couldn't begin to invent. As Smith explains, he took the first intrepid steps in the business of “buying promises” — buying various forms of government debt in the world's battered economies from pessimists and selling them to optimists.

In RICHES AMONG THE RUINS: Adventures In The Dark Corners Of The Global Economy, Smith presents a gripping account of the early days of modern globalization up to the present. Readers follow Smith as he makes a killing trading dollardenominated, government bonds in revolution-torn El Salvador in the early 1980s; learns invaluable business lessons in Vietnam; tries to culminate a deal in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam; and loses more than $15 million dollars in one day betting that post-communist Russia won’t default on its debt. We travel with him through the precarious and exhilarating world of the debt trader as he negotiates with difficult businessmen in Istanbul; ducks shakedown artists in Nigeria; and alternately charms and infuriates corporate big shots in Guatemala. At once adrenaline-fueled and utterly compelling, RICHES AMONG THE RUINS is the gripping story of one man’s quest for fortune where others feared to tread.

Beyond the thrill of traveling along on Smith's adventures, RICHES AMONG THE RUINS culminates with an objective analysis of current economic conditions and the future promise of the United States. Smith cites our politically stable democracy, highly literate and relatively cohesive population, and the fact that millions of people still flock to our shores in search of a better life, as proof to inspire long-term confidence. “In short, the United States, for all its economic problems, is and will remain a stable and relatively predictable place to invest, create a business, and thrive,” Smith declares. He does warn, though, that the United States, like the whole global economy, needs to focus on narrowing the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

Riveting reading for anyone interested in how the global economy works, RICHES AMONG THE RUINS is also an exciting adventure story. Robert Lenzner, national editor of Forbes magazine, says “Smith’s adventures read like a spy novel.” While Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs declares, “If you want to understand what goes on behind the scenes in international business and finance, and be treated to a fascinating account of the adventures of a financial entrepreneur who knows the most remote areas of the world on intimate terms, this is the book for you.”

Tagged: Foreign Investments, Developing countries, External Debts,