And in modern times, the bond market has brought once wealthy nations, like Argentina, crashing to their knees. It ensured the defeat of the South in the American Civil War. It dictated the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo and created the world’s greatest financial dynasty.

The bond market funded the wars that plagued northern Italy 600 years ago. It created a whole new way for governments to borrow money. You just take it to a bond market, like the one here at Tokyo Stock Exchange, and sell it.Īfter the rise of banks, the birth of the bond market was the next big revolution in the history of finance. But – and here’s the magic – if you want to get rid of a bond, the government doesn’t have to give you the cash back. Governments will always spend more than they raise in taxation – sometimes shed-loads more – and they make up the difference by selling bonds that pay interest. Just call him Mr Bond.īonds are the magical link between the world of high finance and the world of political power. Gross is widely regarded as the king of the bond market. In today’s world, real power lies in the hands of an elite group of unassuming men in anonymous, open-plan offices… the men who control the world’s bond market.īill Gross is the boss of PIMCO, the world’s biggest bond-trading operation, which manages a portfolio of bonds worth $700 billion. We may think power resides with presidents and prime ministers in palaces and parliaments.