A kaleidoscopic account of the financial upheaval caused by the pandemic, revealing the fear, grit, and gambles that defined the economy’s winners and losers—from a leading business reporter. In early March 2020, the Dow Jones was near 30,000, and major companies were thriving. By month’s end, millions were unemployed, iconic firms sought bailouts, and small businesses faced collapse. Business leaders, caught off-guard, abandoned long-term strategies and made hasty decisions in hopes of survival. Award-winning journalist Liz Hoffman illustrates how the pandemic ignited an economic crisis, highlighting that the underlying issues had been brewing since the 2008 financial crisis. Corporate leaders had embraced cheap debt and relentless growth, leading to stagnant wages and a surge in gig work, while Wall Street lauded the push for efficiency, ignoring the risks involved. With unprecedented access to major companies, the narrative captures pivotal moments as CEOs navigated the crisis—Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, caught off-guard by the pandemic; American Airlines’ Doug Parker, advocating for a bailout; and Ford’s Jim Hackett, repurposing assembly lines to produce ventilators. This account reveals the grit and gambles of the pandemic economy, questioning whether it will foster resilience or be remembered as a costly oversight.
