The World for Sale

Meet the swashbuckling traders who supply the world with energy, food and metal.

Their goal: To make billions by buying and selling raw materials – flogging Russian gas to Europe, Saudi oil to America and Congolese metals to Silicon Valley.

Their methods: Whatever it takes – whether funnelling cash to Vladimir Putin’s sanction-stricken Kremlin, schmoozing Russian metal oligarchs after the collapse of the Soviet Union, or striking deals with the Libyan rebels at the height of the Arab Spring.

These are the commodity traders. You’ve probably never heard of them. But, like it or not, you’re one of their customers.