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

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

And no less than two factions have formed around how to respond. In

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 far more than 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 may be predicted…and defended against.

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