Jeffrey Robinson
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Robinson is an American author of 25 books. He has been labeled by the British Bankers' Association "the world's leading financial crime author".
in Philadelphia (1967). While still at school, he wrote for television and radio, including a popular weekly children's show and was on the writing staff of The Mike Douglas Show
, a nationally televised daily talk show. He continued working in the media during his four year stint as an officer in the United States Air Force. Charged with running a press and public relations office for five generals at the height of the Vietnam War, he hosted a weekly talk show, scripted and directed several film projects, wrote short stories for national magazines and moonlighted as a disc jockey on local radio.
When his military obligation was completed at the end of 1970, he took up residence in a small village in the south of France. Using that as his base, he vagabonded around the world, writing articles and short stories for leading North American and British periodicals. His magazine credits include Playboy
, McCalls, Barron's
, Gourmet
, True
, Ambassador magazine, Mademoiselle
, Reader's Digest
and TV Guide
; his newspaper credits include The Washington Post
, The San Francisco Examiner
, The Christian Science Monitor
and International Herald Tribune
(for which he was a major contributor of features during the 1970s). In Britain his feature journalism has appeared in The Times
, The Sunday Times
, The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Independent
and The Mail on Sunday
, among others.
He moved to the UK in 1982, with more than 600 published stories and articles to his credit, to concentrate on writing books. In 2007, he returned to New York and now divides his time between the US and the UK.
A headline-maker in 14 countries around the world, Robinson scripted and hosted several television documentaries on the back of The Laundrymen, including one for the BBC
, and another for Arte
in France and Germany. Both have been shown in the United States.
In 1998, he published a sequel to The Laundrymen, titled The Merger - How Organized Crime is Taking Over The World. In it, Robinson revealed the disturbing lengths that transnational organized criminals go in order to build multi-national corporations; explained why organized crime is the major beneficiary of globalization; and illustrated how transnational organized criminals have become the most powerful special interest group on the planet.
Five years later he published yet another book in this series: The Sink, about crime, terrorism and dirty money in the offshore world.
Between 1986-1994, he published three major best-selling biographies: Yamani - The Inside Story, about Saudi Arabia's former Minister of Oil Ahmed Zaki Yamani
; Rainier & Grace, the only legitimate biography ever written about, and with the cooperation of, Monaco’s sovereign family; and Bardot - Two Lives, also unique in that it was written with the cooperation of French icon, Brigitte Bardot
.
His other non-fiction titles include: The Risk Takers (his first UK best seller) which highlighted the high-fliers of City finance, recounting their tales of money, ego and power; The Minus Millionaires, the off-beat sequel to The Risk Takers, in which he told stories about ‘risk takers’ who had lost fortunes; The End of the American Century, for which Robinson gained access to secret archives in the former Soviet Union to reveal the hidden agendas of the Cold War; The Hotel, stories gathered over five months as a fly on the wall in what is, arguably, the best hotel in the world; The Manipulators - A Conspiracy to Make Us Buy, exposing the marketing world’s “hidden persuaders” 40 years after Vance Packard; and Prescription Games, an insider’s view of the global pharmaceutical industry, where science and marketing are deliberately kept apart and where, all too often, profit dictates who lives and who dies.
In 2005, he wrote his first "as told to" with an old college friend, Joseph Petro
: Petro's autobiography, Standing Next to History - An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service
. In 2007, Robinson co-authored Ronnie Wood's autobiography, documenting Wood's years as a rock star and member of the most famous band in the world, The Rolling Stones
. In 2009, he published his third "as told to": Leading From The Front, co-written with British entrepreneur, Gerald Ronson
.
His treatise on fraud, There's a Sucker Born Every Minute - A Revelation Of Audacious Frauds, Scams, And Cons -- How To Spot Them, How To Stop Them was published in 2010.
His latest book, The Takedown, subtitled "A Suburban Mom, A Coal Miner's Son and the Unlikely Demise of Colombia's Brutal Norte Valle Cartel", was released in August 2011. (Tom Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press)
, ABC News
, CNN
, Fox News, BBC Breakfast
, BBC Newsnight, ITN, Channel 4 News
, CBC
, CNBC
, Sky News
, BBC World
, NBC
's The Today Show
and Bloomberg Television
. He has scripted and hosted various series for BBC Radio
, including one on American soap operas. He also wrote a BBC Radio Drama of the Week entitled Rossum’s Cyber Cafe.
His conceived and wrote the pilot for the British crime drama series, Tightrope for Yorkshire Television. He also wrote the pilot episode for a new British series on financial crime called Follow The Money. Other television scripts include Sister Banjo and Notice of Claim. He has scripted a film version of his biography of Brigitte Bardot, called Bardot; and a made-for-television movie version of Standing Next to History, a dramatic re-telling of the special relationship between the president of the United States (Ronald Reagan
) and his Secret Service
agent (Joseph Petro
), called Ronnie & Joe.
Robinson won the 1990 Benedictine Award as "After-Dinner Speaker of the Year".
, The Christian Science Monitor
, The Washington Post
and The San Francisco Examiner
.
Early life
Born in Long Beach, New York, Robinson is a graduate of Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
in Philadelphia (1967). While still at school, he wrote for television and radio, including a popular weekly children's show and was on the writing staff of The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
, a nationally televised daily talk show. He continued working in the media during his four year stint as an officer in the United States Air Force. Charged with running a press and public relations office for five generals at the height of the Vietnam War, he hosted a weekly talk show, scripted and directed several film projects, wrote short stories for national magazines and moonlighted as a disc jockey on local radio.
When his military obligation was completed at the end of 1970, he took up residence in a small village in the south of France. Using that as his base, he vagabonded around the world, writing articles and short stories for leading North American and British periodicals. His magazine credits include Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, McCalls, Barron's
Barron's Magazine
Barron's is an American weekly newspaper covering U.S. financial information, market developments, and relevant statistics. Each issue provides a wrap-up of the previous week's market activity, news reports, and an informative outlook on the week to come....
, Gourmet
Gourmet (magazine)
Gourmet magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. Founded by Earle R. MacAusland and first published in 1941, Gourmet also covered "good living" on a wider scale....
, True
True (magazine)
True, also known as True, The Man's Magazine, was published by Fawcett Publications from 1937 until 1974. Known as True, A Man's Magazine in the 1930s, it was labeled True, #1 Man's Magazine in the 1960s. Petersen Publishing took over with the January 1975, issue...
, Ambassador magazine, Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
, Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
and TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
; his newspaper credits include The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
and International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
(for which he was a major contributor of features during the 1970s). In Britain his feature journalism has appeared in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
and The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
, among others.
He moved to the UK in 1982, with more than 600 published stories and articles to his credit, to concentrate on writing books. In 2007, he returned to New York and now divides his time between the US and the UK.
Non-fiction
Robinson is internationally known for his 1995 investigative tour de force, The Laundrymen, in which he uncovered the true extent of global money laundering. The book reveals how hundreds of billions of dirty dollars are derived mainly from the drug trade, then reinvested throughout the world by otherwise legitimate businessmen, lawyers, accountants and bankers. Considered the definitive book on the subject, and now used in universities and law schools as a text, Business Week described it as "[a]n indictment of governments and banks".A headline-maker in 14 countries around the world, Robinson scripted and hosted several television documentaries on the back of The Laundrymen, including one for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and another for Arte
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
in France and Germany. Both have been shown in the United States.
In 1998, he published a sequel to The Laundrymen, titled The Merger - How Organized Crime is Taking Over The World. In it, Robinson revealed the disturbing lengths that transnational organized criminals go in order to build multi-national corporations; explained why organized crime is the major beneficiary of globalization; and illustrated how transnational organized criminals have become the most powerful special interest group on the planet.
Five years later he published yet another book in this series: The Sink, about crime, terrorism and dirty money in the offshore world.
Between 1986-1994, he published three major best-selling biographies: Yamani - The Inside Story, about Saudi Arabia's former Minister of Oil Ahmed Zaki Yamani
Ahmed Zaki Yamani
Ahmed Zaki Yamani is a Saudi Arabian politician who was Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources from 1962 until 1986 for his country, and a minister in OPEC for 25 years....
; Rainier & Grace, the only legitimate biography ever written about, and with the cooperation of, Monaco’s sovereign family; and Bardot - Two Lives, also unique in that it was written with the cooperation of French icon, Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
.
His other non-fiction titles include: The Risk Takers (his first UK best seller) which highlighted the high-fliers of City finance, recounting their tales of money, ego and power; The Minus Millionaires, the off-beat sequel to The Risk Takers, in which he told stories about ‘risk takers’ who had lost fortunes; The End of the American Century, for which Robinson gained access to secret archives in the former Soviet Union to reveal the hidden agendas of the Cold War; The Hotel, stories gathered over five months as a fly on the wall in what is, arguably, the best hotel in the world; The Manipulators - A Conspiracy to Make Us Buy, exposing the marketing world’s “hidden persuaders” 40 years after Vance Packard; and Prescription Games, an insider’s view of the global pharmaceutical industry, where science and marketing are deliberately kept apart and where, all too often, profit dictates who lives and who dies.
In 2005, he wrote his first "as told to" with an old college friend, Joseph Petro
Joseph Petro
Joseph Petro is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Citigroup Security and Investigative Services. He is also co-chairman of the United States Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council. He also served for 23 years as a special agent in the United States Secret...
: Petro's autobiography, Standing Next to History - An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
. In 2007, Robinson co-authored Ronnie Wood's autobiography, documenting Wood's years as a rock star and member of the most famous band in the world, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. In 2009, he published his third "as told to": Leading From The Front, co-written with British entrepreneur, Gerald Ronson
Gerald Ronson
Gerald Maurice Ronson is a British business tycoon and philanthropist.-Career:Aged 15, Ronson left school and joined his father in the family furniture business, named Heron after his father Henry. The company expanded into other activities; in the mid-1960s Ronson brought the first self-service...
.
His treatise on fraud, There's a Sucker Born Every Minute - A Revelation Of Audacious Frauds, Scams, And Cons -- How To Spot Them, How To Stop Them was published in 2010.
His latest book, The Takedown, subtitled "A Suburban Mom, A Coal Miner's Son and the Unlikely Demise of Colombia's Brutal Norte Valle Cartel", was released in August 2011. (Tom Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press)
Fiction
Jeffrey Robinson has also written five much-praised novels: Pietrov and Other Games; The Ginger Jar; The Margin of the Bulls; The Monk’s Disciples; and, currently under film option, A True and Perfect Knight.Radio and television
Robinson has appeared on NBC NewsNBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Fox News, BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
, BBC Newsnight, ITN, Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
, CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
, BBC World
BBC World
BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
and Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
. He has scripted and hosted various series for BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, including one on American soap operas. He also wrote a BBC Radio Drama of the Week entitled Rossum’s Cyber Cafe.
His conceived and wrote the pilot for the British crime drama series, Tightrope for Yorkshire Television. He also wrote the pilot episode for a new British series on financial crime called Follow The Money. Other television scripts include Sister Banjo and Notice of Claim. He has scripted a film version of his biography of Brigitte Bardot, called Bardot; and a made-for-television movie version of Standing Next to History, a dramatic re-telling of the special relationship between the president of the United States (Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
) and his Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
agent (Joseph Petro
Joseph Petro
Joseph Petro is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Citigroup Security and Investigative Services. He is also co-chairman of the United States Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council. He also served for 23 years as a special agent in the United States Secret...
), called Ronnie & Joe.
Robinson won the 1990 Benedictine Award as "After-Dinner Speaker of the Year".
Non-fiction
- The Takedown - A Suburban Mom, A Coal Miner's Son and the Unlikely Demise of Colombia's Brutal Norte Valle Cartel (2011)
- There's a Sucker Born Every Minute (2010)
- The Sink - Crime, Terror And Dirty Money in the Offshore World (2003)
- Prescription Games - Money, Ego and Power Inside the Global Pharmaceutical Industry (2001)
- The Merger - The Conglomeration of International Organized Crime (1998)
- The Manipulators - A Conspiracy to Make Us Buy (1997)
- The Hotel - Upstairs, Downstairs in a Secret World (1996)
- The Laundrymen (1995)
- Bardot - Two Lives (1994)
- The End of the American Century (1992)
- The Risk Takers - Five Years On (1991)
- Rainier & Grace (1988)
- Yamani - The Inside Story (1987)
- Minus Millionaires (1986)
- The Risk Takers - Portraits of Money, Ego and Power (1985)
- Teamwork - Comedy Teams in the Movies (1983)
- Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
- A Filmography (1982)
- With Gerald RonsonGerald RonsonGerald Maurice Ronson is a British business tycoon and philanthropist.-Career:Aged 15, Ronson left school and joined his father in the family furniture business, named Heron after his father Henry. The company expanded into other activities; in the mid-1960s Ronson brought the first self-service...
: Leading from the Front - My Story (2009) - With Ronnie Wood: Ronnie - The Autobiography" (Life as a Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
) (2007) - With Joseph PetroJoseph PetroJoseph Petro is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Citigroup Security and Investigative Services. He is also co-chairman of the United States Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council. He also served for 23 years as a special agent in the United States Secret...
: Standing Next to History - An Agent's Life Inside the Secret ServiceUnited States Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
(2005)
Fiction
- A True and Perfect Knight (1999)
- The Monk's Disciples (1997)
- The Margin of the Bulls (1995)
- The Ginger Jar (1986)
- Pietrov and Other Games (1985)
Screenplays, teleplays and radio plays
- I Je t'Aime You (2008)
- The Wake (short film) (2008)
- Other Arrangements (short film) (2007)
- The Confession (2007)
- Notice of Claim (2005)
- Bardot (2005)
- Sister Banjo (2002)
- Tightrope (2002)
- Rossum's Cyber Café (2000)
- Les Blanchisseurs (1998)
- The Laundrymen (1997)
Journalism and short stories
More than 700 of his published articles and short stories have appeared in major periodicals. Newspaper journalism, specifically for the period 1970-1983 includes 250 feature articles, notably for International Herald TribuneInternational Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
.