In November 2008, after two months of market pandemonium, five hedge-fund barons were called to testify in Congress, in what promised to be a show trial: The billionaires would be scolded for upending the economy. But some way through the proceedings, an unexpected tone emerged. Peering down from his dais, Representative Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, recounted his neighbor’s reaction to the day’s hearing. It was not a reproach, an accusation, nor even an expression of pity. It was a simple question, tinged with awe. “How does it feel to be going before five folks that have gotten more
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