The Big Steal: How steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta fooled Australia and the world
Sep 2026 · Allen & Unwin
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About this ebook
Entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta was going to rescue the Australian, UK, European and US steel industries—and save the planet with green steel. He did none of these things, but he did get very rich. This is the extraordinary story, told for the first time.
Sanjeev Gupta is a fast-talking billionaire with all the trappings of success. He boasts world-class charm, a huge appetite for risk, and a remarkable ability to inspire belief. The media christens him the 'Saviour of Steel'.
When he jets into Whyalla in South Australia to buy its bankrupt steelworks in 2017, Gupta is given a royal reception. He promises to invest billions of dollars in a mega green steel plant that will help save the planet. Now, his promises are unfulfilled, and his global empire is collapsing.
Corporate cops from several countries are chasing him for suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering. They are focusing on his dealings with a British shadow bank run by a former Bundaberg sugar cane farmer, Lex Greensill, who hired Britain's ex-PM David Cameron as a consultant and lent a whopping US$5 billion to the Gupta Family Group.
This is the incredible story of the meteoric rise and fall of an entrepreneur which will leave you asking: how on earth do people like Gupta get away with it?
'Unputdownable. Barry remains a master storyteller.' Joe Aston
'A riveting account of a fast-talking, master manipulator who fooled the corporate world and an adoring media pack. This disturbing tale of steel-tycoon Sanjeev Gupta will leave you seething with rage.' Kate McClymont
'Remarkable – a true story of shameless greed and governmental incompetence, told at a cracking pace and ending (inevitably) with a crash landing.' Geoffrey Watson SC
'Paul has not only laid out in typically merciless detail the fantasy world of a sort of industrial Charles Ponzi but has also shown us how desperate are the politicians and media to believe in fantasies that suit them.' Alan Kohler AM
'The Big Steal is non-fiction, with all the trappings of fiction; livelihoods at stake, infectious promises, corporate villains, suckers, politics and ultimate betrayal - all wrapped up in a blanket of desperation, strain and intense emotion.' Rex Patrick
'The story of the flashy entrepreneur, surrounded by lackeys, promising the world while bleeding it dry is one for our time.'Chris Masters
Sanjeev Gupta is a fast-talking billionaire with all the trappings of success. He boasts world-class charm, a huge appetite for risk, and a remarkable ability to inspire belief. The media christens him the 'Saviour of Steel'.
When he jets into Whyalla in South Australia to buy its bankrupt steelworks in 2017, Gupta is given a royal reception. He promises to invest billions of dollars in a mega green steel plant that will help save the planet. Now, his promises are unfulfilled, and his global empire is collapsing.
Corporate cops from several countries are chasing him for suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering. They are focusing on his dealings with a British shadow bank run by a former Bundaberg sugar cane farmer, Lex Greensill, who hired Britain's ex-PM David Cameron as a consultant and lent a whopping US$5 billion to the Gupta Family Group.
This is the incredible story of the meteoric rise and fall of an entrepreneur which will leave you asking: how on earth do people like Gupta get away with it?
'Unputdownable. Barry remains a master storyteller.' Joe Aston
'A riveting account of a fast-talking, master manipulator who fooled the corporate world and an adoring media pack. This disturbing tale of steel-tycoon Sanjeev Gupta will leave you seething with rage.' Kate McClymont
'Remarkable – a true story of shameless greed and governmental incompetence, told at a cracking pace and ending (inevitably) with a crash landing.' Geoffrey Watson SC
'Paul has not only laid out in typically merciless detail the fantasy world of a sort of industrial Charles Ponzi but has also shown us how desperate are the politicians and media to believe in fantasies that suit them.' Alan Kohler AM
'The Big Steal is non-fiction, with all the trappings of fiction; livelihoods at stake, infectious promises, corporate villains, suckers, politics and ultimate betrayal - all wrapped up in a blanket of desperation, strain and intense emotion.' Rex Patrick
'The story of the flashy entrepreneur, surrounded by lackeys, promising the world while bleeding it dry is one for our time.'Chris Masters
Entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta was going to rescue the Australian, UK, European and US steel industries—and save the planet with green steel. He did none of these things, but he did get very rich. This is the extraordinary story, told for the first time.
Sanjeev Gupta is a fast-talking billionaire w...
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3 reviews
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September 20, 2026
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About the author
Paul Barry is the celebrated author of bestselling books that charted the business careers of Australia's wealthiest and most powerful men: Breaking News; Who Wants to be a Billionaire;The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer; and The Rise and Fall of Alan Bond. A graduate of Oxford University who came to Australia at first to work for Four Corners and stayed. He was the long-running host of ABC TV's Media Watch.
Paul Barry is the celebrated author of bestselling books that charted the business careers of Australia's wealthiest and most powerful men: Breaking News; Who Wants to be a Billionaire;The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer; and The Rise and Fall of Alan Bond. A graduate of Oxford University who came ...
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