Latest published articles

Deepwater Horizon: The $65 Billion Oil Disaster

Some chapters in this book are about money. Some are about greed. This one is about what happens when you mix both with a deadline and a drill hole four kilometers under the ocean. Chapter 36 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” (ISBN: 978-1-63299-227-7) tells the story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The biggest oil spill in American history. Eleven dead. 780 million liters of crude in the Gulf of Mexico. And a final bill of $65 billion.

  • Nov 08, 2025

Copper, Congo, and the Kazakh Oligarchs

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa. It sits on top of enormous reserves of cobalt, diamonds, copper, gold, and rare minerals. By any logic, this should be one of the wealthiest nations on the continent. Instead, it is one of the poorest countries on Earth. Only Zimbabwe has a lower per capita GDP. Chapter 35 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells the story of how Kazakh oligarchs ended up controlling Congo’s copper riches through a chain of shady deals, corrupt middlemen, and a government that treated its country’s resources like personal property.

Copper, Congo, and the Kazakh Oligarchs

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa. It sits on top of enormous reserves of cobalt, diamonds, copper, gold, and rare minerals. By any logic, this should be one of the wealthiest nations on the continent. Instead, it is one of the poorest countries on Earth. Only Zimbabwe has a lower per capita GDP. Chapter 35 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells the story of how Kazakh oligarchs ended up controlling Congo’s copper riches through a chain of shady deals, corrupt middlemen, and a government that treated its country’s resources like personal property.

  • Nov 01, 2025

Chocolate Finger: The Man Who Tried to Corner the Cocoa Market

In July 2010, a 50-year-old hedge fund manager quietly bought 240,000 tons of cocoa beans. That was 7% of the entire world’s production. The majority of all available supply on the market. His bet was worth a billion dollars. The press called him “Chocolate Finger.” Chapter 34 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells the story of Anthony Ward and his massive cocoa gamble.

Chocolate Finger: The Man Who Tried to Corner the Cocoa Market

In July 2010, a 50-year-old hedge fund manager quietly bought 240,000 tons of cocoa beans. That was 7% of the entire world’s production. The majority of all available supply on the market. His bet was worth a billion dollars. The press called him “Chocolate Finger.” Chapter 34 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells the story of Anthony Ward and his massive cocoa gamble.

  • Oct 25, 2025

Sugar Prices Go Crazy When the Monsoon Fails

Sugar is one of those things you never think about. You put it in your coffee, you eat it in everything, it is just there. Then one summer in India the rain does not come, and suddenly sugar is front page news. Chapter 33 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” (ISBN: 978-1-63299-227-7) tells the story of what happened in 2009 and 2010, when the world’s second-largest sugar producer ran out of sugar and had to start buying it from everyone else.

Sugar Prices Go Crazy When the Monsoon Fails

Sugar is one of those things you never think about. You put it in your coffee, you eat it in everything, it is just there. Then one summer in India the rain does not come, and suddenly sugar is front page news. Chapter 33 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” (ISBN: 978-1-63299-227-7) tells the story of what happened in 2009 and 2010, when the world’s second-largest sugar producer ran out of sugar and had to start buying it from everyone else.

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