As president of the Global Bank for a decade, James D Wolfensohn tackled global poverty with a passion and energy that made him a uniquely important figure in a fundamental arena of change.
In A Global Life, Wolfensohn tells his remarkable life story beginning with his boyhood in Australia. He became an Olympic fencer and a prominent banker in London and New York, eventually navigating Wall Street with uncommon skill. Chairman of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for many years, he is also an amateur cellist.
But it was his tenure at the World Bank that made him an international force. Wolfensohn motivated, schemed, charmed and bullied the constituencies at his command to broaden the distribution of the world's wealth. In 2005, he became in international envoy for Israel's disengagement from Gaza, overseeing a transition that tragically collapsed.
Now Wolfensohn bluntly assesses his successes and failures. He reflects on his intense and tumultuous decade at the Bank and on the causes of continuing poverty. Much more than a business story, this is a riveting account of a fascinating career and personality.
Author Information
James D Wolfensohnwas born in Sydney on December 1, 1933. He holds a BA and LLB from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He served as an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, and was a member of the 1956 Australian Olympic Fencing Team. Wolfensohn was president of the World Bank from 1995 to 2005. Prior to joining the Bank, he established his career as an international investment banker with a parallel involvement in development issues and the global environment. Wolfensohn is a Fellow of the American Philosophical Society. He has been the recipient of many awards for his volunteer work, including the first David Rockefeller Prize of the Museum of Modern Art in New York for his work for culture and the arts. He and his wife, Elaine, have three children– Sara, Naomi, and Adam.
Jill Margo is a Walkley-award winning Australian journalist and author. She has written extensively in the fields of business, finance and men's health, is a columnist for The Financial Review, and author of the bestselling books Man Maintenance, Man Maintenance II and Pushing the Limits, the biography of Frank Lowy. She lives in Rose Bay, NSW.