Hettie O’Brien
@hettieobrien.bsky.social
Writer at the Guardian: First Edition and Guardian Long Reads | Author of THE ASSET CLASS
Another really insightful First Edition from email newsletter @hettieobrien.bsky.social @theguardian.com this time with a focus on immigration & Cueta.
This morning’s First Edition is about the desperate attempts to make Ceuta look like an “invasion” - and how the EU’s border policies mean this is bound to keep happening. With @trillingual.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Wednesday briefing: How misinformation and a hardened immigration policy turned Ceuta into Europe’s latest flashpoint
In today’s newsletter: The past week shows how quickly images, rumours and right-wing political opportunism can eclipse the facts on the ground
theguardian.com
This morning's First Edition is about how a vocal minority of climate skeptics is responding to intense heat and trying to convince politicians that climate action isn't popular (it is) www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Tuesday briefing: Inside the right’s heated climate-denial debate
In today’s newsletter: A small chorus of right-leaning critics are trying to convince politicians that climate action is deeply unpopular, downplaying its seriousness in the process
theguardian.com
This morning’s First Edition is about the most exasperating, decades long debate in British politics - and what Burnham might do differently this time www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Tuesday briefing: Can Andy Burnham solve the social care crisis after three decades of failure?
In today’s newsletter: The new prime minister has said he will change the system to stave off NHS ‘collapse’ – quite how he does it is another matter
theguardian.com
Here she is! The fabulous @hettieobrien.bsky.social is joining myself and Michael Segalov writing our daily newsletter First Edition - today she's written about MPs vs mega-donors www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Wednesday briefing: Do MPs have the will to stop mega-donors interfering in UK politics?
In today’s newsletter: The representation of the people bill has become a test of whether Britain can curb the surge in billionaire‑backed donations trying to influence how we run the country
theguardian.com
After seven months of spinning multiple plate promoting THE ASSET CLASS on maternity leave, today I’m starting a new role at the Guardian writing the flagship morning newsletter with the brilliant @libbybrooks.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-of...
Guardian announces new writers for flagship newsletters
The Guardian has today announced key appointments for its First Edition and Long Wave newsletters, boosting its newsletter expertise globally.
theguardian.com
Was delighted to be interviewed by @doughenwood.bsky.social for his inimitable radio show Behind the News
Doug Henwood@doughenwood.bsky.social · 4w agofresh audio product: Hettie O’Brien, author of The Asset Class, on the private equity racket—who they are, what they do www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html#S...
Of all these details, the fact Reform were considering *the hippodrome in Leicester Square* as a location for Farage’s candidacy launch event is just… spot on www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Hettie was great, and her book is great. Buy her book!
Hettie O’Brien@hettieobrien.bsky.social · last mo.I spoke to @robinwigglesworth.ft.com and Gillian Tett for the FT's The Story of Money podcast about William Simon - fearsome bond trader, devout Republican… and arguably the godfather of private equity. Listen to the episode here: www.ft.com/content/33c2...
I spoke to @robinwigglesworth.ft.com and Gillian Tett for the FT's The Story of Money podcast about William Simon - fearsome bond trader, devout Republican… and arguably the godfather of private equity. Listen to the episode here: www.ft.com/content/33c2...
The 1980s Garfield buyout that changed corporate finance
It was a conservative Catholic from the Nixon administration who launched the private equity industry
ft.com
Enjoyed speaking to Sruti Basak at @thelondonmagazine.bsky.social about the book recently thelondonmagazine.org/interview-ca...
Interview | Capitalism Against Itself: An Interview with Hettie O’Brien - The London Magazine
Sruti Basak interviews Hettie O'Brien about her book, The Asset Class, private equity and the industry's corrosive effects on our daily lives.
thelondonmagazine.org
Here's The Story of Money's episode on the OG leveraged buyout, the abrasive former Treasury Secretary who put it together, and how it launched the modern private equity industry, wonderfully told by @hettieobrien.bsky.social. NB also features Garfield the Cat.
The 1980s Garfield buyout that changed corporate finance
It was a conservative Catholic from the Nixon administration who launched the private equity industry
ft.com
£1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes on private equity - a galling statistic in this excellent bit of reporting from my colleagues @michaelgoodier.bsky.social @c-aguilargarcia.bsky.social and others www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity
Almost £24.4bn of government money went to private equity-run firms in year to April 2025, Guardian analysis shows
theguardian.com
For those of you in the states, THE ASSET CLASS is out this week with its beautiful US cover, and available to buy in all good bookshops!
I spoke to Richard Hames for @novaramedia.com's Do Your Own Research about private capital and the right, the class politics of finance, the SpaceX IPO… and other things too
How Private Equity Bought the World | Richard Hames meets Hettie O'Brien
YouTube video by Novara Media
youtube.com
Very excited that The Baffler has excerpted a section from one of my favourite chapters in THE ASSET CLASS. It asks: why does private equity, one of the richest industries on earth, suddenly want *your* money? thebaffler.com/latest/short...
Shorting God | Hettie O’Brien
So long as its supporters remain happy, the private equity industry can stay powerful far longer than individuals can stay solvent.
thebaffler.com
Very excited that The Baffler has excerpted a section from one of my favourite chapters in THE ASSET CLASS. It asks: why does private equity, one of the richest industries on earth, suddenly want *your* money? thebaffler.com/latest/short...
Shorting God | Hettie O’Brien
So long as its supporters remain happy, the private equity industry can stay powerful far longer than individuals can stay solvent.
thebaffler.com
Private equity firms (PE) have become architects of crisis across everyday life. Our book of the week demonstrates how PE's model of “creative destruction” is tearing down public goods and selling our social fabric. By @hettieobrien.bsky.social on @grandcentralpub.bsky.social buff.ly/06eFfKY
I wrote my first ever book review !! And it’s of @hettieobrien.bsky.social’s fantastic debut book The Asset Class !! 📚
Hettie O’Brien@hettieobrien.bsky.social · 2mo agoThank you to @prospectmagazine.co.uk for including THE ASSET CLASS in this roundup of books to read in June! www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/book...
Some of the most exciting thinking about political economy in Britain has come out of PERC. Its closure is a huge loss and an indictment of the state of UK academia www.goldperc.uk/project_post...
Looking back on PERC - Political Economy Research Centre
The Political Economy Research Centre is to close formally this summer. Here, founding Director, Will Davies, reflects on its twelve years of activity. It took two or three years before the causes, ef...
goldperc.uk
Thank you to @prospectmagazine.co.uk for including THE ASSET CLASS in this roundup of books to read in June! www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/book...
Books in Brief: what to read this June
From the first Great Depression to the price of success for women in Hollywood, here are this month’s short reviews
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Loyal as I am, this season of BBCFreeThinking hasn’t seemed quite as sparkling as others. Then along comes this—1 of the best. Anne McElvoy argues with @vicky-pryce.bsky.social @maharafiatal.bsky.social Dafydd Daniel, Allister Heath, @hettieobrien.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Free Thinking, Wealth
Can the accumulation of wealth be ethical and what can we learn from Adam Smith's enquiry?
bbc.co.uk
A vital piece from @georgemonbiot.bsky.social. Private equity has been quietly cashing in on children in care for some time - and the results, in many cases, have been catastrophic. Thanks for the shoutout to THE ASSET CLASS www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies making cash from England’s children in care | George Monbiot
Councils are sending vulnerable kids to homes ran by money-grabbing cowboys and private-equity vultures, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
ICYMI I went on @podsavetheuk.crooked.com to talk about who really owns Britain with the great Nish Kumar and Coco Khan - you can listen to the full episode here open.spotify.com/episode/2Xws...
We Read Tony Blair So You Don’t Have To. Plus: Who Really Owns Britain? w/Hettie O’Brien
Pod Save the UK · Episode
open.spotify.com
I went on Radio 4 to talk about wealth, the superrich, and what’s changed since Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations (TLDR; the wretched spirit of monopoly is back, baby) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Free Thinking, Wealth
Can the accumulation of wealth be ethical and what can we learn from Adam Smith's enquiry?
bbc.co.uk
By relying on private equity to deliver public services, the UK is designing in unaffordability. Loved discussing THE ASSET CLASS with @vickyspratt.bsky.social earlier this week - full Q&A is now on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJK...
How Private Equity Sold Out the West | Hettie O’Brien & Vicky Spratt
YouTube video by The Conduit
youtube.com