An extraordinary cast of flamboyant wheeler-dealers and eccentrics whose stories are a fascinating kaleidoscope of generosity and greed, fraud and failure, determined blindness and blind determination.

After THE RISK TAKERS, and stories of the men and women who made fortunes, here are the stories of those who lost fortunes.

Meet William Stern, the property magnate who became he world's largest personal bankrupt; Jim Slater, who coined the phrase "minus millionaire"; the disagreeable Frenchman who bragged "I will never make a serious financial mistake" - and did; the eccentric Schlumpf brothers, whose £60 million collection of antique automobiles became the object of a government plot; Eli Pinkas, the ever aloof Swiss businessman who defrauded eighteen banks of $300-$800 million; and "Champagne" Norah Docker, who spent her way through three husbands, three fortunes, yachts, jewels, furs and a gold-plated Daimler.

The Times: “Wonderful tales of conscientious consumption."

The Independent: "The great crashes, both corporate and personal, are all documented here."

Irish Times: "A cocktail of images... a real-life 'Dallas' or 'Falcon Crest'"