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Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It
A key document in the Progressive era, Other People's Money conveys a sense of moral outrage and political anger over the costs of the industrialization of the United States on traditional social and political values. A thorough introduction and questinos for considerations accompany the full text of Louis Brandeis's 1914 work.
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
About the author
Louis D. Brandeis
65 books27 followersLouis Dembitz Brandeis was an American lawyer and Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.
He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents from Bohemia, who raised him in a secular home. He enrolled at Harvard Law School, graduating at the age of twenty with the highest grade average in the law school's history.
Brandeis settled in Boston where he became a recognized lawyer through his work on progressive social causes. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept by writing a Harvard Law Review article of that title, and was thereby credited by legal scholar Roscoe Pound as having accomplished "nothing less than adding a chapter to our law". He later published a book titled Other People's Money And How the Bankers Use It, suggesting ways of curbing the power of large banks and money trusts, which partly explains why he later fought against powerful corporations, monopolies, public corruption, and mass consumerism, all of which he felt were detrimental to American values and culture. He also became active in the Zionist movement, seeing it as a solution to antisemitism in Europe and Russia, while at the same time being a way to "revive the Jewish spirit."
When his family’s finances became secure, he began devoting most of his time to public causes and was later dubbed the “People’s Lawyer.” He insisted on serving on cases without pay so that he would be free to address the wider issues involved. The Economist magazine calls him "A Robin Hood of the law." Among his notable early cases were actions fighting railroad monopolies; defending workplace and labor laws; helping create the Federal Reserve System; and presenting ideas for the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He achieved recognition by submitting a case brief, later called the "Brandeis Brief," which relied on expert testimony from people in other professions to support his case, thereby setting a new precedent in evidence presentation.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson nominated Brandeis to become a member of the Supreme Court. However, his nomination was bitterly contested, partly because, as Justice William O. Douglas wrote, "Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible. . . [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court." He was eventually confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 47 to 22 on June 1, 1916,—21 Republican Senators and one Democratic Senator (Francis G. Newlands of Nevada) voted against his nomination—and became one of the most famous and influential figures ever to serve on the high court. His opinions were, according to legal scholars, some of the "greatest defenses" of freedom of speech and the right to privacy ever written by a member of the Supreme Court.
He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents from Bohemia, who raised him in a secular home. He enrolled at Harvard Law School, graduating at the age of twenty with the highest grade average in the law school's history.
Brandeis settled in Boston where he became a recognized lawyer through his work on progressive social causes. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept by writing a Harvard Law Review article of that title, and was thereby credited by legal scholar Roscoe Pound as having accomplished "nothing less than adding a chapter to our law". He later published a book titled Other People's Money And How the Bankers Use It, suggesting ways of curbing the power of large banks and money trusts, which partly explains why he later fought against powerful corporations, monopolies, public corruption, and mass consumerism, all of which he felt were detrimental to American values and culture. He also became active in the Zionist movement, seeing it as a solution to antisemitism in Europe and Russia, while at the same time being a way to "revive the Jewish spirit."
When his family’s finances became secure, he began devoting most of his time to public causes and was later dubbed the “People’s Lawyer.” He insisted on serving on cases without pay so that he would be free to address the wider issues involved. The Economist magazine calls him "A Robin Hood of the law." Among his notable early cases were actions fighting railroad monopolies; defending workplace and labor laws; helping create the Federal Reserve System; and presenting ideas for the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He achieved recognition by submitting a case brief, later called the "Brandeis Brief," which relied on expert testimony from people in other professions to support his case, thereby setting a new precedent in evidence presentation.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson nominated Brandeis to become a member of the Supreme Court. However, his nomination was bitterly contested, partly because, as Justice William O. Douglas wrote, "Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible. . . [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court." He was eventually confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 47 to 22 on June 1, 1916,—21 Republican Senators and one Democratic Senator (Francis G. Newlands of Nevada) voted against his nomination—and became one of the most famous and influential figures ever to serve on the high court. His opinions were, according to legal scholars, some of the "greatest defenses" of freedom of speech and the right to privacy ever written by a member of the Supreme Court.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 13, 2025
Before he was a supreme court justice, Louis Brandeis wrote a series of articles for Harper’s Magazine that he fleshed out and expanded into this book. He was arguing for greater regulation, oversight, and openness in the banking industry after a series of collapses and scandals that caused a lot of harm. I have to confess I skimmed most of it – it was about people I only vaguely knew about involved in crashes I knew less of. But it had some great quotes. This one, particularly, jumped out at me:
It’s funny; I read it the first time and thought he said “the greatest good FOR the greatest number.” But he did not. The greatest good OF the greatest number. That he thought we should build a world were everyone could do their best, and that we’d failed to do it yet, in part because we largely let banks self regulate and they’re way to invested in themselves to do it right.
I’m glad the book exists, though it’s too much of its time to hold my attention.
Here and there you will find a hero, -- red-blooded, and courageous, -- loving manhood more than wealth, place or security, -- who dared to fight for independence and won. Here and there you may find the martyr, who resisted in silence and suffered with resignation. But America, which seeks “the greatest good of the greatest number,” cannot be content with conditions that fit only the hero, the martyr or the slave. (50)
It’s funny; I read it the first time and thought he said “the greatest good FOR the greatest number.” But he did not. The greatest good OF the greatest number. That he thought we should build a world were everyone could do their best, and that we’d failed to do it yet, in part because we largely let banks self regulate and they’re way to invested in themselves to do it right.
I’m glad the book exists, though it’s too much of its time to hold my attention.
December 3, 2009
Brandies was the forefather of counseling in law. Before him lawyers were like doctors of today, coming to a patient's (client's) aid AFTER the fact. Brandies was the founder of preventative law. He was also an early pro-bono advocate, donating much of his time to charity cases. Some critics felt he was naive in his thinking (specifically related to trust busting but also other areas of idealism) but much of what he did was for the good of the layperson and also at the forefront of altruistic thinking and, more importantly, doing.
This is a book that is as relevant now as it was in the early 20th century. Its focus, reform, is an issue that is and probably always will be with us. We see it today in health and education and the financial markets. Brandies would be one of those at the forefront today of looking to reform Wall Street and all those accused of greed and deceit.
This is not a great read, if you're looking for such, but it is important for all of us to understand how those in power do use our money, others peoples' money. If you don't know, you need to. Your financial well-being and that of all of us depends on your understanding, especially an accurate understanding when going to the polls to vote for those who lead this country and have some say in those who abuse great power and opportunity.
This is a book that is as relevant now as it was in the early 20th century. Its focus, reform, is an issue that is and probably always will be with us. We see it today in health and education and the financial markets. Brandies would be one of those at the forefront today of looking to reform Wall Street and all those accused of greed and deceit.
This is not a great read, if you're looking for such, but it is important for all of us to understand how those in power do use our money, others peoples' money. If you don't know, you need to. Your financial well-being and that of all of us depends on your understanding, especially an accurate understanding when going to the polls to vote for those who lead this country and have some say in those who abuse great power and opportunity.
December 28, 2024
...history offers texts for many sermons. It illustrates the Evils of Monopoly, the Curse of Bigness, the Futility of Lying, and the Pitfalls of Law-Breaking. But perhaps the most impressive lesson that it should teach to investors is the failure of banker-management.
How relevant to today is Brandeis' scathing 1913 deconstruction of the many, many failures of America's big banking houses and their creation of trusts and other combinations that served only themselves? Eminently.
After decades of corrupt politicians undoing the democratically-enacted regulations that arose in response to a series of banker-led catastrophes, we are once again living in an age of the money trust and are in need of a refresher in common sense.
0 stars for this particular edition, evidently produced by some dirt bag rentier that merely scanned an earlier out of print edition and didn't even bother to correct the scan-to-text errors.
How relevant to today is Brandeis' scathing 1913 deconstruction of the many, many failures of America's big banking houses and their creation of trusts and other combinations that served only themselves? Eminently.
After decades of corrupt politicians undoing the democratically-enacted regulations that arose in response to a series of banker-led catastrophes, we are once again living in an age of the money trust and are in need of a refresher in common sense.
0 stars for this particular edition, evidently produced by some dirt bag rentier that merely scanned an earlier out of print edition and didn't even bother to correct the scan-to-text errors.
July 1, 2024
Louis D. Brandeis is analyzing how the money trust controlled many industries in the United States during the beginning of the 20th century. The interlocking directorates, the acquisition of related corporations, such as insurance companies, money trusts and investment banks, made commercial banks the most powerful institutions of the economy in the United States.
A book for enthusiasts of the history of economics.
A book for enthusiasts of the history of economics.
April 6, 2022
Eye-opening and alarming. Sometimes you just can't believe what some people are getting away with. Seems like fiction most of the time yet it's clearly true. Well delivered information.
December 1, 2023
Brandeis uses fun words from the early 20th which have since gone out of style.
June 26, 2012
"Das Geld der Anderen" ist ein 100 Jahre altes Buch - und das merkt man an allen Ecken und Kanten. Aber: Das stört nicht im Geringsten, denn trotz Allem kann man ihm eine gewisse Aktualität nicht absprechen.
Zu der Zeit, als Brandeis (der ein geachteter Spezialist und aktiver Mann des Volkes war) es schrieb, machten J.P. Morgan und Konsorten gerade von sich reden. Ihre Macht nahm damals ihren Ausgang - und Brandeis benutzt ihr Beispiel um aufzuzeigen, wie schnell der Wohlstand eines ganzen Volkes (heute würde man eher 'der Welt' sagen) an diesen Menschen zerschellen kann.
Klar, die einzelnen Beispiele sind nicht gerade brandaktuell - das Prinzip ist aber das Gleiche geblieben.
Deshalb kann man sein Buch als Warnung verstehen. Teilweise zu spät, denn wir befinden uns bereits in der Krise, und doch noch rechtzeitig um daraus zumindest folgendes lernen zu können: Wenn wir nicht wollen, dass all das schon wieder geschieht, müssen wir solche Menschen daran hindern zu Geld und Macht zu kommen. J.P. Morgan war nur ein einzelner Mann - doch der Schaden, den er unserer Gesellschaft hinterlassen hat, ist enorm. Doch er war und ist nicht allein.
Ich möchte dieses Buch jedem empfehlen, der sich die Frage: "Wie konnte das eigentlich passieren?" beantworten möchte. Es ist ein guter Ausgangspunkt.
Zu der Zeit, als Brandeis (der ein geachteter Spezialist und aktiver Mann des Volkes war) es schrieb, machten J.P. Morgan und Konsorten gerade von sich reden. Ihre Macht nahm damals ihren Ausgang - und Brandeis benutzt ihr Beispiel um aufzuzeigen, wie schnell der Wohlstand eines ganzen Volkes (heute würde man eher 'der Welt' sagen) an diesen Menschen zerschellen kann.
Klar, die einzelnen Beispiele sind nicht gerade brandaktuell - das Prinzip ist aber das Gleiche geblieben.
Deshalb kann man sein Buch als Warnung verstehen. Teilweise zu spät, denn wir befinden uns bereits in der Krise, und doch noch rechtzeitig um daraus zumindest folgendes lernen zu können: Wenn wir nicht wollen, dass all das schon wieder geschieht, müssen wir solche Menschen daran hindern zu Geld und Macht zu kommen. J.P. Morgan war nur ein einzelner Mann - doch der Schaden, den er unserer Gesellschaft hinterlassen hat, ist enorm. Doch er war und ist nicht allein.
Ich möchte dieses Buch jedem empfehlen, der sich die Frage: "Wie konnte das eigentlich passieren?" beantworten möchte. Es ist ein guter Ausgangspunkt.
May 22, 2019
An excellent book on how the bankers got in control of the US railroads and other industries back in the day when the railroads were the heart of the US economy.
March 17, 2020
Trong cuốn Thương Trường Kỳ Truyện có một bài về cách mà ngài J.P.Morgan đã giải cứu các doanh nghiệp Mỹ và nắm lấy 57% các doanh nghiệp (57% doanh nghiệp Mỹ hiện tại tương đương khoảng 14 ngàn tỉ đô). Ngài và những đồng sự trở thành giai cấp thống trị của một đế chế tài chính khổng lồ, nắm lấy những ngành xương sống của nước Mỹ. Sự độc quyền về tài chính khiến cho hệ thống này nắm giữ nguồn tiền, từ đó nắm giữ vị trí lãnh đạo trong những ngành chủ chốt thông qua thị trường chứng khoán. Liên minh này chèn ép thâu tóm các doanh nghiệp không thuộc nó, đồng thời mất đi cạnh tranh, nó cũng thất bại trong việc cung cấp sản phẩm tốt hơn cho người dân.
Cuốn Tiền Chùa là lời kết tội của luật sư Louis Brandeis với các tập đoàn ngân hàng lớn của Mỹ đầu thế kỷ XX. Ông phản đối việc kinh tế bị thao túng trong tay các tư bản ngân hàng. Trong sách ông phân tích cách mà các tập đoàn tài chính đã lũng đoạn tiền bạc, điều khiển luật chơi để chiếm phần quyền lợi lớn về phía mình. Ông cũng đưa ra các giải pháp về luật, chính sách và thậm chí các mô hình tài chính có thể tước đi một phần quyền lực của các ngân hàng. Nhờ đó đem lại sự cạnh tranh lành mạnh và điều tốt đẹp hơn cho phần đông dân Mỹ.
https://t0an.blogspot.com/2020/03/sac...
Cuốn Tiền Chùa là lời kết tội của luật sư Louis Brandeis với các tập đoàn ngân hàng lớn của Mỹ đầu thế kỷ XX. Ông phản đối việc kinh tế bị thao túng trong tay các tư bản ngân hàng. Trong sách ông phân tích cách mà các tập đoàn tài chính đã lũng đoạn tiền bạc, điều khiển luật chơi để chiếm phần quyền lợi lớn về phía mình. Ông cũng đưa ra các giải pháp về luật, chính sách và thậm chí các mô hình tài chính có thể tước đi một phần quyền lực của các ngân hàng. Nhờ đó đem lại sự cạnh tranh lành mạnh và điều tốt đẹp hơn cho phần đông dân Mỹ.
https://t0an.blogspot.com/2020/03/sac...
January 9, 2026
3.5/5 This 1914 indictment of market manipulation & mis-dealings remains useful for financial regulators to check both the concentration of wealth and control.
Justice Brandeis’ incisive writing peels back the outsized influence of investment banks in the 1910s, shining light on the monopolistic tactics of early trusts and mega-corporations.
Favorite quotes and thoughts:
https://christianinc.substack.com/p/o...
Justice Brandeis’ incisive writing peels back the outsized influence of investment banks in the 1910s, shining light on the monopolistic tactics of early trusts and mega-corporations.
Favorite quotes and thoughts:
https://christianinc.substack.com/p/o...
August 21, 2019
It's a history of the banking issues in the early 1900s. Somewhat interesting bc a lot has changed since then. I skimmed it and didn't find too much useful for me today.
November 23, 2019
Xuất sắc!
January 4, 2020
Interesting read - but the facts are so dated - that it is interesting only if you read the whole book in 30 mins. Get a sense of what was happening rather than the micro-detail, which is too stale.
February 23, 2023
Hong hiểu lắm tại mù chứng khoán tài chính dù vẫn oke với ý tưởng mà sách đem lại
January 7, 2013
Louis Brandeis's Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It is a classic critique of the power Wall Street and financiers can wield.
The populist lawyer and later Supreme Court justice often critiqued and identified concentrated power as harmful to democracy.
In Other People's Money, Brandeis lays out his argument against the banks and Wall Street.
Brandeis claims that a small number of bankers use the people's own money deposits as the basis to control industry and finance. This power is then used to create non-competitive oligarchies that stifle creativity, competition and thus lower prices. In addition, many businesses run by financiers are not run as operational businesses producing goods and services, but more as cash cows to be mined, stripped and then discarded.
As evidence, Brandeis examines the connections of shell and dummy corporations, together with massive amounts of capital stock, that allow a small number of people to control so much wealth and direct activity.
His solution is creating financial institutions and marketplaces controlled by the people - credit unions and cooperatives.
The populist lawyer and later Supreme Court justice often critiqued and identified concentrated power as harmful to democracy.
In Other People's Money, Brandeis lays out his argument against the banks and Wall Street.
Brandeis claims that a small number of bankers use the people's own money deposits as the basis to control industry and finance. This power is then used to create non-competitive oligarchies that stifle creativity, competition and thus lower prices. In addition, many businesses run by financiers are not run as operational businesses producing goods and services, but more as cash cows to be mined, stripped and then discarded.
As evidence, Brandeis examines the connections of shell and dummy corporations, together with massive amounts of capital stock, that allow a small number of people to control so much wealth and direct activity.
His solution is creating financial institutions and marketplaces controlled by the people - credit unions and cooperatives.
January 15, 2013
Louis Brandeis's Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It is a classic critique of the power Wall Street and financiers can wield.
The populist lawyer and later Supreme Court justice often critiqued and identified concentrated power as harmful to democracy.
In Other People's Money, Brandeis lays out his argument against the banks and Wall Street.
Brandeis claims that a small number of bankers use the people's own money deposits as the basis to control industry and finance. This power is then used to create non-competitive oligarchies that stifle creativity, competition and thus lower prices. In addition, many businesses run by financiers are not run as operational businesses producing goods and services, but more as cash cows to be mined, stripped and then discarded.
As evidence, Brandeis examines the connections of shell and dummy corporations, together with massive amounts of capital stock, that allow a small number of people to control so much wealth and direct activity.
His solution is creating financial institutions and marketplaces controlled by the people - credit unions and cooperatives.
The populist lawyer and later Supreme Court justice often critiqued and identified concentrated power as harmful to democracy.
In Other People's Money, Brandeis lays out his argument against the banks and Wall Street.
Brandeis claims that a small number of bankers use the people's own money deposits as the basis to control industry and finance. This power is then used to create non-competitive oligarchies that stifle creativity, competition and thus lower prices. In addition, many businesses run by financiers are not run as operational businesses producing goods and services, but more as cash cows to be mined, stripped and then discarded.
As evidence, Brandeis examines the connections of shell and dummy corporations, together with massive amounts of capital stock, that allow a small number of people to control so much wealth and direct activity.
His solution is creating financial institutions and marketplaces controlled by the people - credit unions and cooperatives.
August 28, 2020
3 for a general reader, 4 or maybe even 5 for a true history buff.I decided to read this in another edition after reading We the Corporations, and the content has been living up to my expectations fully. It is a fascinating, well-written look at finances one hundred years ago that seems so very foreign and, at the same time, so very familiar (just substitute one name or business sector for another.). However, there is a LOT of detail, so be sure you are VERY interested if you take it on.
However, the typesetting was SO BAD that some complete sentences were totally incomprehensible. I returned the book (Thank you, Amazon, for the prompt refund.) and decided to spring for a slightly more expensive version in the hope it will be better.
This edition did not have the typo problem, so watch which edition you buy.
However, the typesetting was SO BAD that some complete sentences were totally incomprehensible. I returned the book (Thank you, Amazon, for the prompt refund.) and decided to spring for a slightly more expensive version in the hope it will be better.
This edition did not have the typo problem, so watch which edition you buy.
September 8, 2012
I assigned this as the first reading for and the second half U.S. Survey course and while I found the subject matter interesting the overall effect was less than satisfactory. I found myself bored reading the entire primary source, although the introductory essay by Melvin Urofsky was very good. The students have real trouble with the material--they got lost in the details and the economic ideas went over their heads. Instead of being challenging, as I hoped, it was simply confusing. I do not plan to assign this again.
October 30, 2014
The context is the Progressive Era in the U.S. that is, early 20th century. Therefore, some of the remedies Judge Brandeis suggests have either been implemented into law or no longer relevant in this era of outsourcing and globalization. Yet, his analysis about the greed of the ultra-rich is accurate and the conditions today are likely worse than his day. It is an important read for its historical context of capitalism, why that economic system will never meet the needs of the lower classes and for the surprising popularity of socialism in those times, what might be called "populism" today.
November 17, 2014
I read the hardback original edition published around 1915. A strong critique of how a small circle of financiers controlled much of the wealth of the country in the first decade of the 20th C. Sound familiar 100 years later? Brandeis was then a young lawyer. He was to go on to the Supreme Court. I don't know how the kindle edition compares.
April 28, 2009
by the man behind "the curse of bigness." here brandeis marshals the facts and persuasively shows how concentrations of $ & power are deadly for democracy. not easy to read but contains great fundamentals on what a bank and a stockbroker actually are/ do.
May 20, 2012
I thought this book was insanely boring. It took me a long time to read because I'd read around ten pages then fall asleep. But, I'm not the target audience for this book. It was a requirement for a class.
June 7, 2010
Much of this book is dated (still interesting if you like the history) - but a whole lot of it is just as relevant. A quick read too.
August 2, 2014
Interesting, sounds like if we had listened to Mr. Brandeis we would have never have the 2008 crisis.
April 21, 2012
Brandeis is a big-government blowhard who is jealous of anyone who is successful on their own terms. He fails to understand how the economy and the world really work.
April 30, 2013
Because it is so fact-specific and assumes familiarity with hen-contemporaneous corporations and financial system, it does not age well.
January 8, 2015
Although the numbers and the people are different today, the ways the banks use other peoples money hasn't changed much, just got more sophisticated.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews