Nicholas Shaxson
British investigative journalist and author, best known for 'Treasure Islands' on tax havens and 'Poisoned Wells' on African oil politics; contributor to major outlets such as the Financial Times and The Economist, and an associate of the Tax Justice Network.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. Treasure Islands
Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World
An exposé of how offshore tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions—many tied to the City of London’s global network—allow corporations and the wealthy to avoid taxes, hide illicit funds, and influence policy while hollowing out public finances and democracy. Tracing the system’s roots from empire to modern deregulation, it details how secrecy, lax regulation, and elite collusion fuel inequality and financial instability, and argues for transparency and robust reforms to restore accountability.
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2. The Finance Curse
How Global Finance Is Making Us All Poorer
An indictment of oversized financial sectors, arguing that once finance grows beyond a useful scale it extracts wealth rather than creates it—diverting talent, stifling productivity, inflating inequality, and warping democratic institutions. Using examples from the UK and offshore centers, it shows how secrecy jurisdictions and tax avoidance empower rent-seekers while communities absorb instability and austerity. It concludes that stronger regulation, transparency, decentralization, and investment in the real economy would make societies more prosperous, resilient, and fair.
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