Extreme Wealth – Episode 3: Jennifer Risher and the Limits of Sudden Wealth
Release Date: 10/09/2024
Where’s the Cavalry: Global Anti-Corruption Efforts
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
At the 2025 TRACE Annapolis Forum, Nicola Bonucci, Associate Professor at Paris Cité and former General Counsel of the OECD, reflects on 25 years of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the evolving challenges of global enforcement. From uncertainties around FCPA guidance, political influence, and uneven implementation, to questions about the U.S.’s continued leadership in anti-bribery efforts, Nicola highlights the risks companies face in an increasingly unpredictable landscape—where cross-border investigations, bribe solicitation, and public scrutiny are on the rise. This episode...
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1MDB
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Bradley Hope of the Wall Street Journal describes his team’s in-depth and on-going research into Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal- and where Leonardo DiCaprio fits in.
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Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Louise Shelley, founder of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, discusses her book about the links between the three international scourges.
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Blockchain and Cryptocurrency
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Carrie Cohen of Morrison & Foerster explains the regulatory and compliance implications of blockchain-enabled technology, including cryptocurrency.
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“On Corruption in America”
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Sarah Chayes joins the podcast to talk about her latest book: On Corruption in America and What is at Stake. She takes us from the myth of King Midas through to the present in a lively history of corruption and then leaves listeners with a detailed call to action.
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“Promoting Integrity in the Work of International Organisations”
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Duncan Smith of the European Investment Bank joins the podcast to discuss his book: Promoting Integrity in the Work of International Organisations: Minimising Fraud and Corruption in Projects. He discusses the unique role of multinational development banks, the progress that remains and the cost of getting it wrong.
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The Last Pirate of New York
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Bestselling author, Rich Cohen, describes the “missing link” between American pirates and gangsters: underworld legend and notorious criminal, Albert Hicks. Rich also makes clear how far law enforcement has come since the days of Hicks’ many gruesome crimes.
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Hockey Canada’s Governance Review
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Retired Canadian Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell joins the podcast to describe the review he was commissioned to undertake of Hockey Canada’s organizational structure in the aftermath of a sexual assault scandal that shook confidence in the sport in 2018. This episode was originally published on 13 November 2024.
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Football Dreams
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Sebastian Abbot, author of “The Away Game; The Epic Search for Soccer’s Next Superstars,” talks about Qatar and the biggest soccer talent search in history, as well as the darker side of recruiting for the sport.
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Whistleblower Protections
Bribe, Swindle or Steal
Leah Ambler, Director, Corruption Prevention at the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity and former Legal Analyst at the OECD, joins the podcast—in her personal capacity—to discuss her excellent chapter on Whistleblower Protections. Leah discusses the importance of whistleblower protections to reducing corruption and the challenges inherent in these protections in the absence of comprehensive, harmonized legislation.
info_outlineThe author and philanthropist Jennifer Risher continues our series on extreme wealth by telling the story of her ear-popping rise from a middle-class Microsoft employee in the early ‘90s to an unexpected multimillionaire. The stock options she accrued with her husband, David — a fellow Microsoft employee who went on to join Amazon and who is now the CEO of Lyft — gave Jennifer immediate entry to a world of privilege that, as the child of a working-class household, she’d never expected to join. Her experience showed her the peculiar nature of personal wealth: an agent of tremendous power that, she finds, does more to amplify people’s character than to alter it.
Jennifer Risher is the author of “We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth,” which aims to illuminate discussions of money that are often cloaked in taboo, guilt, and secrecy. She and her husband founded the #HalfMyDAF movement, which seeks to encourage wealthy people to make greater charitable gifts in their lifetimes.