The Man Who Tried to Buy the World : Jean-Marie Messier and Vivendi Universal

About this book

In 1994 Jean-Marie Messier had a to change a 150 year old French water company into a media empire to compete with anything America could produce.He would spend over $100bn. At the height of his triumphs he was a hero of the New Economy a man who had successfully brought together the old and new with his unique vision of the future. By 2000 the empire combined music publishing telecom cinema theme parks water supply videogames commuter trains the internet and waste management.In 2002 as the financial markets fell Messiers debt became impossible and he was ousted in a boardroom coup. This portrait of one of todays most brilliant and flawed businessmen is a real life morality tale of our times.