Butler to the World: How Britain became the servant of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals Paperback – 19 Jan. 2023

enjoyable read and informative, thankyou.

I found this an interesting read, and a real eye opener about how the UK makes its money from the cleaver use of money movement here and abroad. Certainly made me start to understand why ‘the city’ gets away with so much that it does, and why the government is so protective over it when it is a key asset for the UK’s global standing.Definitely worth a read.

Great read and pertinent in explaining where we are and why.

In 1962 the former American Secretary of State Dean Acheson famously said that Britain had lost an empire and not yet found a role. In this book, which is a follow-up to Moneyland, his earlier book on the same subject, Oliver Bullough argues that Britain has now found its role, namely butler to the world.If this sounds a bit of a comedown from Britain's earlier role of running the greatest empire that the world has seen in modern times, then that is right. What is butlering in this context? It is the City of London together with the legal and accountancy professions using their skills to help the super-rich hide their wealth offshore, evade tax and avoid having to account to anyone except themselves.Bullough traces the growth of offshore finance from the 1950s onwards and shows that Britain has been one of the countries at the centre of it. Indeed many of these offshore financial centres are former British colonial possessions too small to win independence but granted a considerable degree of political autonomy as British Overseas Territories. Examples given are the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Nevis but there are others. Bullough shows how they have developed a lucrative trade in setting up so-called shell companies to which individuals with money to hide can transfer their wealth. This can be kept secret because it is a feature of these companies that there are no obligations to make public the identity of directors and shareholders and little or no reporting obligations. All one needs is a controlling interest in one of these companies with a bank account or accounts attached and the process can begin.These arrangements attract varied classes of persons from politicians who have used their power to siphon off enormous wealth from their own countries to criminals wishing to hide illegally acquired profits from drug smuggling and other activities. Setting up these arrangements costs money of course and this is where the butlering services come into play.For many years these practices were tolerated by successive governments which did not want to interfere with the City of London's financial earning power because they could see spin-off benefits for Britain. The arguments used to defend these activities were very simple. If we do not do it someone else will and there is no point in one country acting alone because the practices can only be stopped by nations acting in concert. More recently public pressure had caused the British government to take some legislative action mainly by creating unexplained wealth orders but Bullough shows how difficult is for poorly resourced state agencies to fight against the legal teams that the super-rich can assemble to avoid having their improperly acquired wealth confiscated.. More needs to be done and in particular Britain needs to stop British Overseas Territories from creating the kinds of financial regimes and loopholes which allow this shadowy financial world to flourish.Britain does not come well out of this book but that is no reason for rejecting it. Anyone who cares about justice should support measures to rein in the abuses of power and the crimes at the heart of offshore finance.

The idea of aligning modern Britain’s place in the modern world to the relationship between Jeeves and Wooster is entertaining, but there is a great deal of interesting stuff to back the idea up.

A must read in you want to understand Britain's role in the world...

Interesting premise and some interesting case studies but would benefit from a good edit to take out some of the repetition

an historical explaination of the substitution of the empire's dividends with the gains deriving from providing financial and legal services to oligarchs, with special reference to those coming from eastern europe

They have a great sense of humor. Except when it comes to money. If the pay is right, one seems ready for any disgrace. How tax havens, money laundering and prostitution for dirty money fit in with the idea of „common wealth“ remains their secret. The British will know. A depressing read, but a very well written book.

Un vistazo sobre el mundo de los ricos y sus métodos de escondar su riqueza.....bajo la vista gorda de las autoridades fiscales británicas.

This book can be written in 10 pages.

前から気になっていた作品だ。英国が植民地帝国崩壊の後に見出した生存のための新しいビジネスモデル。それこそが「世界の執事」としての役割。日本の観光立国のモチーフとしてよく喧伝される「おもてなし」と重なる側面がある。もっとも英国の「世界の執事産業」が対象とするのもっとハイエンドな顧客だ。世界の悪人（ロシアのoligarchや中国共産党の大物一族、北朝鮮の首領）や犯罪人（麻薬や覚醒剤）たちへのマネーロンダリングと脱税というサーヴィスの提供だ。その資金の規模は巨額だ。タックスヘヴンとshell companyという仕組みに群がる弁護士、会計事務所（税金部門）、コンサルタント、そして金融機関が、高い手数料と引き換えに、「合法的」に資金洗浄と脱税を助けるというものだ。これはnicholas shaxsonの「treasure island」にも共通するテーマだ。このビジネスモデルの発端を「1956年のイギリスのスエズ侵攻」と捉えた著者の慧眼には納得。帝国植民地が崩壊し、スエズ運河もエジプトに国有化され、そこで打った最後の大博打、スエズ侵攻がアメリカによる強迫により、大失敗した英国が見出したのは、おのれのグローバルな軍事的な存在がもはや維持できず、経済的にも疲弊しきった自国の姿だ。どのようにして自国の世界での存在を維持していくのか。そこに英国が見出したのは、二つのポイントだ。一つは、衰えたとはいえ、英国という制度（法制度やインフラ）への外部からの信頼だ。そりゃ、だれもロシアや中国には住みたくはないし、そこで資産運用はしたくはない。もう一つは、その面子を変えることはあれど、いつの世にも存在する世界の悪人だ。その具体的な面子は、当初はドル備蓄を抱え込んだソヴィエト、その後はアラブのお金持ち、さらにはソヴィエト崩壊後に登場する旧共産圏のoligarachに代表される悪人たちだ。このリストには、独立を果たしたアフリカ諸国の支配層、２０００年代になると、中国共産党の要人たちも加わってくる。いつの世にも盗人の種は尽きない。その悪人たちに、脱税や資金洗浄さらには匿名性を武器にした不動産投資のサーヴィスを提供し、最終的には英国の上流社会への入国パスポートまでも確保する。まさに腐敗の極みだ。没落に直面した国で提供されるこの種のnihilisticなサービスは、「みんなやっている」、「ワテがやらなきゃ誰かがやる」、「国際的な競争力の確保」「金融関連業界での雇用の維持」とのその妥当性がきわめて疑わしいお題目の下で、正当化される。また英国でも、緊縮策の下で、リストラや経費削減の圧力の下で、法執行機関（警察や裁判所）はその存在が危い基盤の下に立たされており、そのスタッフも民間の「バトラー業界」に高給を餌に引き抜かれていく有様だ。というわけで、現制度の穴はふさがれることなく、悪人を摘発した法執行機関が訴訟で民間に負けてしまう失態を引き起こしてしまうくらいだ。帝国という存在が崩壊した中で、生み出された経済的な苦境とモラルの崩壊、これこそがいまだに英国がこの「バトラー業界」から脱却できない理由だ。そしてこの種のビジネスモデルは日本でも導入されている。いつの世も尽きないのは悪人の種だ。

I'm glad I discovered Oliver as a guest on a favourite podcast as his coverage of this eye opening topic is comprehensive and the writing entertaining. It made for quick reading and a few late nights. Brilliant.