James T. Percival

Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London. It financed the Napoleonic Wars and held the Queen's money. In 1995, it was sold for £1. Why? Because a 28-year-old trader named Nick Leeson had secretly lost $1.3 billion betting on the Japanese stock market. Leeson wasn't an evil genius; he was a frantic young man trying to hide a small mistake in a secret account numbered "88888". As the losses grew, he doubled down, hoping for a miracle, while his bosses in London praised his "profits." This book details the psychological pressure of the "Doubling Down" fallacy and the total failure of corporate oversight.
It is a terrifying look at how a single unchecked employee can bring down a 233-year-old institution.