Little, Brown Book Group Kings of Shanghai

This book is incredible! Having lived in Shanghai it really brought to life some of the most iconic buildings in the city and gave me a peak into the world of Jewish Shanghai. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for adventure and a good story as well as history.

L'attaccamento alle radici ebraiche e come esso ha guidato lo lo sviluppo economico di Shanghai e Hong Kong. L'assorbimento dei 18000 rifugiati ebrei dalla Germania un esempio impeccabile di solidarietà costruttiva. Famiglie che hanno saputo ricostruire Hong Kong, anche anticipando tecniche finanziarie (micro credito ad esempio) oggi attuali. Un libro da leggere ed una storia da conoscere.

Unerlässlich zum Studium

I picked up James Clavell’s historical fiction novel “Tai-Pan” and the Noble House referred in the novel reminded a lot of Sasoon Family. Besides the fact that the Sasoon family made a fortune in the opium trade and built the famous Sasoon dock in Mumbai, I knew very little about the Sassoon or Kadoorie family. So naturally, I paused reading “Tai-Pan” and picked up “The Last Kings of Shanghai”. Because truth is stranger than fiction.The Sasoons were illustrious and politically well-connected merchant family in Baghdad. They were the financial advisors for the Ottoman Baghdad rulers and represented the wider Jewish community. Unfortunately, their fortunes turned upside down because of the volatile political situation in Baghdad. The patriarch David Sasoon soon moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in search of opportunities. His reputation, financial acumen and family connection helped him secure loans, contacts and business. Even though David didn’t speak English, he preferred the British empire to Baghdad; situation under British empire was more stable, business friendly and there was no persecution of Jews. During the 1857 Indian munity, he openly sided with British because he identified with the British cause and was rewarded after the mutiny. Soon he diversified his business into different sectors and invested more in Hongkong and Shanghai.Victor Sasoon, the great-grandson of the Patriarch, was a colourful billionaire who was crippled at the age of thirty in WW-1. Victor transferred most of the family wealth from India into Shanghai and concentrated in the Shanghai real estate market. He was fabulously rich and hang out with Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich.The Kadoories, in contrast, had a much humble beginning. They started as a Sasoon employee before venturing into the opium trade. But soon diversified into banking, rubber plantations, electric power utilities, real estate and hotels.Both these opulently wealthy families lived in a bubble and were oblivious to the ill effects of the opium trade, had little regard for the local Chinese population, and were happy exploiting the colonial enterprise for personal wealth. Soon the political climate of the time turns sour. The WW-II and Japanese occupation greatly affected the business, and persecution of the Jews helped the families to introspect and they used their wealth to help set up refugee settlement in Shanghai for fellow Jews who were fleeing persecution from the Nazis. Elly Kadoorie, the patriarch of the Kadoorie, died in the Japanese prison during the war.After the war, Kadoories genuinely had a change in perspective on the local Chinese population and set up philanthropic work in the British Hongkong for the locals. Victor Sasoon, who was oblivious to the rise of the communist, continued to bankroll the nationalist in Shanghai and was heavily invested in the Shanghai real estate market. The Communist takeover greatly dwindled the fortunes of Sasoon family and they’re now largely forgotten from the pages of history. However, Kadoories read the market presciently and invested in Hongkong real estate and industries like China light and power and made a fortune.At times, it feels like the author tries hard to make us feel sympathetic towards these two wealthy families and lack critical objective analysis. But the book is immensely readable, fast paced history. Overall recommend it.

Two very formidable men each of whom spawned a remarkable dynasty. Much about the men, but also a fascinating account of the history of Western influence and involvement notwithstanding their Middle Eastern origins, easy to read.