Best Business Book of All-Time

The Wealth of Nations voted as

Best Business Book of All-Time

The Financial Times today unveiled the results of an online poll of readers to find

the best business book of all-time, to coincide with the announcement of the

winner of the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year

Award. The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith’s influential economic treatise,

published in 1776, was voted the winner by a wide margin, ahead of Barbariansat the Gate

, the 1990 account by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar of the

leveraged buy-out of RJR Nabisco.

Andrew Hill, Associate Editor of the FT, said: “One of the measures of greatness

in the broad genre of books on business, economics and finance is that it should

stand the test of time. The Wealth of Nations, published more than 200 years ago

but still regularly cited, clearly passes that test and is a worthy winner.”

The top five business books of all-time were selected from a list suggested by

global business leaders, academics and policymakers, including Henry Tang, the

Hong Kong government’s Chief Secretary for Administration, who said The Wealthof Nations had helped “lay down the foundation of free market economics”.

Other business leaders, academics and experts who participated in the poll include:

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Founder, Easyjet

Fred Kindle, President and Chief Executive Officer, ABB

Andrew Liveris, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Dow Chemical

Lakshmi Mittal, President and Chief Executive Officer, ArcelorMittal

Scott Moeller, Director of Executive Education, Cass Business School, UK

Alasdair Morrison, former Chairman, Morgan Stanley Asia, and former Group Managing

Director, Jardine Matheson

Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman, Infosys

Full results of the poll, the shortlist of candidates and an online debate about the

best book can be found at http://www.ft.com/bookaward.

For further information please contact:

Midas PR (UK)

Katrina Power/Steven Williams

+44 (0)207 584 7474

+44 (0)79639 62538

katrina.power@midaspr.co.uk

Financial Times Financial Times

Emma Gilpin-Jacobs Lizzie Allen

+44 (0)207 873 4447 +44 (0)207 873 4463

emma.gilpin-jacobs@ft.com lizzie.allen@ft.com

Notes to editors

The closing date for entries for The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business

Book of the Year Award 2007, invited from publishers or bona fide imprints based

in any country, was June 30, 2007. Details of the Terms and Conditions are

available from http://www.ft.com/bookaward. This annual Award aims to identify the

book that provides the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern

business issues, including management, finance and economics. The winner will

be announced at a gala event in London on October 25th 2007.

About the Financial Times:

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, is

recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing

extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed at 24 print sites

across the globe, has a daily circulation of 441,219 (ABC figures, September

2007) and a readership of more than 1.3 million people worldwide. FT.com is one

of the world’s leading business information websites, and the internet partner of

the FT newspaper. FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the

web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the

global business community. FT.com attracts 5.35 million unique monthly

generating 43 million page views users (ABC electronic figures, March 2007).

FT.com has 101,000 subscribers.

http://www.ft.com/bookaward