The Powerful and the Damned

A revealing, intimate diary from the editor of the FT, the most important business newspaper in the world – encounters with global leaders, billionaire CEOs and everyone who’s anyone

‘Extraordinary’ TONY BLAIR
‘Riveting’ – PHILIPPE SANDS
‘Brutal, brilliant and scurrilously funny’ – MISHA GLENNY

The real scoop isn’t on the front page

‘As FT editor, I was a privileged interlocutor to people in power around the world, each offering unique insights into high-level decision-making and political calculation, often in moments of crisis. These diaries offer snapshots of leadership in an age of upheaval…’

Lionel Barber was Editor of the Financial Times for the tech boom, the global financial crisis, the rise of China, Brexit, and mainstream media’s fight for survival in the age of fake news.

In this unparalleled, no-holds-barred diary of life behind the headlines, he reveals the private meetings and exchanges with political leaders on the eve of referendums, the conversations with billionaire bankers facing economic meltdown, exchanges with Silicon Valley tech gurus and pleas from foreign emissaries desperate for inside knowledge, all against the backdrop of a wildly shifting media landscape.

The result is a fascinating – and at times scathing – portrait of power in our modern age; who has it, what it takes and what drives the men and women with the world at their feet. Featuring close encounters with Trump, Cameron, Blair, Putin, Merkel and Mohammed Bin Salman and many more, this is a rare portrait of the people who continue to shape our world and who quite literally, make the news.

Author Biography

Barber was the Editor of the Financial Times from 2005 until January 2020, widely credited with transforming the FT from a newspaper publisher into a multi-channel global news organisation. During his editorship the FT passed the milestone of 1m paying readers, winning many international awards and accolades for its journalism. The FT was named newspaper/news provider of the year in Britain’s press awards in 2008, 2017 and 2019. Other prestigious awards include winning submissions to the Loeb and Overseas Press Club in the US and the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) for editorial excellence. As editor, he interviewed many of the world’s leaders in business and politics, including- Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Premiers Wen Jiabao and Li Keqiang of China, President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and Presidents Zuma and Ramaphosa of South Africa.