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The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin
The complete story of how we came to worship money, and how we can stop greed from destroying everything
The pursuit of wealth is considered an essential function of human nature, and greed is an unspoken civic virtue. Many of us revere billionaires and Wall Street rain-makers, then complain about “the system” being rigged, and wonder why the country doesn’t seem to work for the little guy anymore. Some blame the Deep State for income inequality and corruption, and others blame capitalism, but the truth is that these issues have much deeper our devotion to money is a human invention that has transformed over thousands of years to replace religion as the foundation of our society, and it is tearing civilization apart.
In The Almightier, journalist Paul Vigna uncovers the forgotten history of money, tracing the uneasy and often accidental alliance between wealth and religion as it developed from ancient city-states to today’s secular world, where religious devotion has receded and greed has stepped in to fill the void. Through engaging anecdotes, original research, and fresh perspectives on the causes of the many challenges we face today, Vigna makes a compelling argument that money has no power apart from the power we give it.
The pursuit of wealth is considered an essential function of human nature, and greed is an unspoken civic virtue. Many of us revere billionaires and Wall Street rain-makers, then complain about “the system” being rigged, and wonder why the country doesn’t seem to work for the little guy anymore. Some blame the Deep State for income inequality and corruption, and others blame capitalism, but the truth is that these issues have much deeper our devotion to money is a human invention that has transformed over thousands of years to replace religion as the foundation of our society, and it is tearing civilization apart.
In The Almightier, journalist Paul Vigna uncovers the forgotten history of money, tracing the uneasy and often accidental alliance between wealth and religion as it developed from ancient city-states to today’s secular world, where religious devotion has receded and greed has stepped in to fill the void. Through engaging anecdotes, original research, and fresh perspectives on the causes of the many challenges we face today, Vigna makes a compelling argument that money has no power apart from the power we give it.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published July 22, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 21, 2025
I learned a lot about the history of currency, economics, and capitalism, from antiquity to contemporary times. I've never heard this subject discussed from this perspective-- a moral reckoning of this thing we think of as necessary to human life, that is so ubiquitous in every aspect of human life, that no human could feasibly leave behind without ostracizing themselves from every conceivable social good. This is a book about conformity, social pressure, and power and corruption, by necessity, since it's about the proliferation of personal debt and the accumulation and concentration of personal and institutional wealth in the hands of a very few.
It's difficult to read this book as anything other than what it is-- a takedown of contemporary capitalism by disassembling its roots. It is full of fascinating research and history I have never heard. I recommend this one to readers who are grappling with the rise of greed, who are critical of contemporary economics in theory or practice, and for anyone who is interested to trace the history of human preoccupation with wealth. A suggestion: this history doesn't paint humanity in a flattering light, so if criticism is something you avoid, you might avoid this one. If you can handle a little disillusionment, you could enjoy this.
Thank you to the author Paul Vigna, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE ALMIGHTIER. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a hardback copy. All views are mine.
It's difficult to read this book as anything other than what it is-- a takedown of contemporary capitalism by disassembling its roots. It is full of fascinating research and history I have never heard. I recommend this one to readers who are grappling with the rise of greed, who are critical of contemporary economics in theory or practice, and for anyone who is interested to trace the history of human preoccupation with wealth. A suggestion: this history doesn't paint humanity in a flattering light, so if criticism is something you avoid, you might avoid this one. If you can handle a little disillusionment, you could enjoy this.
Thank you to the author Paul Vigna, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE ALMIGHTIER. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a hardback copy. All views are mine.
October 12, 2025
This book provides an accessible and thorough history of capitalism, and how views of the morality of wealth have changed over the years. I was especially interested in the ways humans have sought to sanctify greed, with norms in the Christian church in particular changing from “usury and greed are sins” to “it’s good to earn a lot of money so you can be generous with it” to the Calvinist idea that rich people have lots of money because that’s God’s plan.
One of the most interesting (albeit dark) chapters is about the founding of the U.S., and the way Black people were dehumanized in order to justify the greed-fuelled transatlantic slave trade. It points to the potential for the all-consuming desire for wealth to spiral into far greater evils.
A more hopeful chapter comes at the end, where the author proposes ideas to reform capitalism. Among the most radical of these is a worldwide, one-time debt jubilee, where all debt, including national debt, would be forgiven. While I am not hopeful that this will come to pass, the author makes a persuasive argument for it, and it’s inspiring to see radical economic ideas outside of the capitalism vs. socialism binary.
Overall, this was a very readable book, and I think history buffs will get a lot out of it. I certainly did!
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this book!
One of the most interesting (albeit dark) chapters is about the founding of the U.S., and the way Black people were dehumanized in order to justify the greed-fuelled transatlantic slave trade. It points to the potential for the all-consuming desire for wealth to spiral into far greater evils.
A more hopeful chapter comes at the end, where the author proposes ideas to reform capitalism. Among the most radical of these is a worldwide, one-time debt jubilee, where all debt, including national debt, would be forgiven. While I am not hopeful that this will come to pass, the author makes a persuasive argument for it, and it’s inspiring to see radical economic ideas outside of the capitalism vs. socialism binary.
Overall, this was a very readable book, and I think history buffs will get a lot out of it. I certainly did!
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this book!
July 31, 2025
This honestly functions as a historical way to read modern capitalism for filth. This is extremely successful at enlightening the reader on the history of capitalism. This is an extremely fun and engrossing way to learn this history and is delightfully narrated by Rob Reider.
This is well researched but also frustrating. The author presents the world destroying nature of capitalism but seems to think it can be reformed. The author was almost there.
Systems that can be proven to be vastly inhumane need to be eradicated and not reformed. If slavery in the US had been eradicated rather than reformed we wouldn't currently have a prison crisis in the US. Reforming racist policies just increases inequality. It never eradicates it.
It's also weird that this history seems to focus on how Christianity subverted empathy and morality in it's pursuit of money and power. Yet when it offers its flawed 'reform' solution, that's only applied to capitalism and not Christianity which felt shortsighted.
Thank you to Paul Vigna, Brilliance Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
This is well researched but also frustrating. The author presents the world destroying nature of capitalism but seems to think it can be reformed. The author was almost there.
Systems that can be proven to be vastly inhumane need to be eradicated and not reformed. If slavery in the US had been eradicated rather than reformed we wouldn't currently have a prison crisis in the US. Reforming racist policies just increases inequality. It never eradicates it.
It's also weird that this history seems to focus on how Christianity subverted empathy and morality in it's pursuit of money and power. Yet when it offers its flawed 'reform' solution, that's only applied to capitalism and not Christianity which felt shortsighted.
Thank you to Paul Vigna, Brilliance Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
April 18, 2025
Vigna lays out compelling history for how the Church (Roman Catholic initially and Protestant ones later) became entrapped in the desire for more. Greed is good, as fictional Gordon Gecko says, and the author traces the writings (mostly) from the last 600 years that led to this point. The book starts with a critical eye towards organized religion subverting its own beliefs or scriptural mandates to justify the accumulation of wealth. With that influence, society as a whole fell in love with amassing more financial resources, with the many theologians’ blessings that such wealth is a sign of God’s favor. It is a fascinating read to learn about the different theological, papal and economic treatises that influenced society’s thought processes.
While the book ends with recommendations for political and banking reform, there are no religious reforms suggested. If the root cause is the Church, it seems reform needs to take place there as well. Unless, as a former Roman Catholic, the author has given up on any additional reform. The 1500s saw the last reform and nothing like it will occur again, so he implies. As Vigna notes some countervailing movements against the rising tide of blessing and promoting avarice, including some rebellions and revolutions, there is little evidence of how prevalent the premise that “more is better” is in society. Certainly there are such attitudes and utterances but what percentile of the populace (even if you look only at developed countries) are endeavoring mightily to accumulate? Anecdotally, there are just as many people acknowledging that we don’t own things, things own us. So are political and economic and religious leaders in the dicta of greed leading us or just spouting into the wind and the words are carried away while we go on about our lives, surviving and thriving? How much reform is really needed except where there is injustice and forced inequality? Perhaps there is nothing for the Church to fix if most of their congregations are “okay” on this point and then it proverbially comes down to “Physician, heal thyself” ensuring that religious leaders are falling into the avarice trap.
Similarly, the growth in wealth within the Roman Catholic Church may have been motivated by greed, or pure desire to display God’s glory with visible means—art, architecture, etc.. These seem to be the only two motivations researched. Could there be others to also explain the movement? Solving medieval unemployment issues such as America’s New Deal accomplished in the 1930s? Redistribution of wealth from those who give the most to the less-advantaged laborers being paid for their work? These potential drives are not fully explored nor may they have been written down for historians since only the wealthy read and who wants to tell the wealthy that they are being “used” or “robbed” in a Robin Hood fashion.
For those who need to refute “greed is good” or monitor our premises for capital campaigns in different organizations, understanding the history of thought that got us to believe certain practices are good is important. This book help us do that.
I appreciate the publisher providing an advanced copy.
While the book ends with recommendations for political and banking reform, there are no religious reforms suggested. If the root cause is the Church, it seems reform needs to take place there as well. Unless, as a former Roman Catholic, the author has given up on any additional reform. The 1500s saw the last reform and nothing like it will occur again, so he implies. As Vigna notes some countervailing movements against the rising tide of blessing and promoting avarice, including some rebellions and revolutions, there is little evidence of how prevalent the premise that “more is better” is in society. Certainly there are such attitudes and utterances but what percentile of the populace (even if you look only at developed countries) are endeavoring mightily to accumulate? Anecdotally, there are just as many people acknowledging that we don’t own things, things own us. So are political and economic and religious leaders in the dicta of greed leading us or just spouting into the wind and the words are carried away while we go on about our lives, surviving and thriving? How much reform is really needed except where there is injustice and forced inequality? Perhaps there is nothing for the Church to fix if most of their congregations are “okay” on this point and then it proverbially comes down to “Physician, heal thyself” ensuring that religious leaders are falling into the avarice trap.
Similarly, the growth in wealth within the Roman Catholic Church may have been motivated by greed, or pure desire to display God’s glory with visible means—art, architecture, etc.. These seem to be the only two motivations researched. Could there be others to also explain the movement? Solving medieval unemployment issues such as America’s New Deal accomplished in the 1930s? Redistribution of wealth from those who give the most to the less-advantaged laborers being paid for their work? These potential drives are not fully explored nor may they have been written down for historians since only the wealthy read and who wants to tell the wealthy that they are being “used” or “robbed” in a Robin Hood fashion.
For those who need to refute “greed is good” or monitor our premises for capital campaigns in different organizations, understanding the history of thought that got us to believe certain practices are good is important. This book help us do that.
I appreciate the publisher providing an advanced copy.
July 26, 2025
Paul Vigna's The Almightier arrives at a moment when our relationship with money feels increasingly toxic. The veteran Wall Street Journal reporter, known for his previous works on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, ventures into far more ambitious territory with this sweeping historical narrative that traces how money evolved from a simple accounting tool in ancient Mesopotamian temples to what he argues has become our modern secular religion.
The Central Thesis: Money as Religion
Vigna's core argument is both provocative and meticulously researched: money has gradually replaced traditional religion as the organizing principle of Western society. Unlike other financial histories that focus on economic systems or market mechanisms, The Almightier examines money as a belief system with its own moral framework, rituals, and sacred spaces. The author traces this transformation across five millennia, from the temple scribes of ancient Uruk to the gleaming towers of Wall Street.
The book's most compelling insight emerges from Vigna's analysis of how religious authority and monetary power have been intertwined since civilization's earliest days. He demonstrates how temple officials like Kushim, a Mesopotamian accountant whose clay tablets represent some of humanity's oldest writing, established money not just as a measurement tool but as something imbued with divine authority. This connection between the sacred and the financial, Vigna argues, never truly disappeared—it simply evolved.
Structure and Narrative Arc
The Almightier unfolds in two parts that chronicle money's theological evolution. Part I traces the historical development from ancient temple accounting systems through the Renaissance banking revolution, focusing particularly on figures like Cosimo de' Medici and the philosophical shift that made greed socially acceptable. Part II examines how Protestant theology, particularly John Calvin's teachings about wealth as divine favor, provided the moral foundation for modern capitalism.
Vigna's journalistic background serves him well in crafting accessible narratives around complex historical developments. His description of how Poggio Bracciolini's 15th-century dialogue De avaritia intellectually legitimized greed as potentially beneficial reads like a thriller, complete with political intrigue and moral conflict. The author's ability to make medieval banking practices feel relevant to contemporary readers represents one of the book's greatest strengths.
Strengths: Deep Research and Contemporary Relevance
The book's research foundation is impressive. Vigna draws from sources spanning anthropology, theology, economic history, and philosophy to construct his argument. His analysis of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism feels particularly fresh, as he builds upon Weber's insights about capitalism's religious origins while extending them to examine money's evolution into what he terms "the Almightier."
Vigna excels at connecting historical developments to contemporary issues. His exploration of how debt jubilees functioned in ancient societies feels especially relevant given current debates about student loan forgiveness and wealth inequality. The author's background covering financial markets adds credibility to his observations about how modern financial institutions deliberately employ religious imagery and architecture to reinforce money's quasi-sacred status.
The writing style itself deserves recognition. Vigna adopts a conversational yet authoritative tone that makes complex historical and theological concepts accessible without oversimplification. His occasional use of contemporary analogies—comparing ancient Uruk to New York City, for instance—helps readers understand the scale and significance of historical developments.
Critical Weaknesses and Limitations
Despite its ambitions, The Almightier suffers from several significant limitations. The book's scope, while impressive, sometimes works against its central argument. Vigna attempts to cover five thousand years of history across multiple civilizations, resulting in some superficial treatment of complex topics. His analysis of Islamic and Eastern perspectives on money and wealth feels particularly underdeveloped, limiting the book's claims to universality.
The author's thesis, while provocative, occasionally feels overstated. His argument that money has completely replaced traditional religion overlooks the continued influence of religious institutions and beliefs in modern society. While declining religious observance in Western societies supports part of his argument, Vigna doesn't adequately address how traditional faiths continue to shape attitudes toward wealth and economic behavior.
The book's treatment of potential solutions feels frustratingly brief. After spending hundreds of pages documenting how money became "the Almightier," Vigna offers only limited suggestions for addressing the problems he identifies. His proposal for a global debt jubilee, while historically grounded, receives insufficient analysis regarding practical implementation challenges.
Weber's Shadow and Vigna's Innovation
Vigna's engagement with Max Weber represents both the book's greatest strength and a potential weakness. While his analysis of Weber's insights about capitalism's religious origins is sophisticated and well-argued, some readers may feel that Vigna's central thesis simply extends Weber's century-old observations rather than offering fundamentally new insights.
However, Vigna's contribution lies in his detailed historical documentation of how this process unfolded. His exploration of figures like Cosimo de' Medici and the intellectual evolution that made greed socially acceptable provides concrete historical mechanisms for abstract sociological theories. The author's analysis of how Protestant theology provided moral justification for wealth accumulation offers valuable historical context for understanding contemporary attitudes toward inequality.
Final Assessment: Ambitious but Incomplete
The Almightier succeeds as an ambitious intellectual history that challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions about money's role in society. Vigna's central thesis—that money has evolved into a secular religion—provides a compelling framework for understanding contemporary economic behavior and cultural attitudes toward wealth.
The book's greatest achievement lies in its historical documentation of how religious and monetary authority became intertwined throughout Western civilization. Vigna's analysis of figures like Cosimo de' Medici and theological developments around wealth provides valuable insights into capitalism's moral foundations.
However, the work's scope sometimes exceeds its analytical depth. Vigna's attempt to cover five millennia of history across multiple civilizations results in some superficial treatment of complex topics. The book would benefit from either narrower focus or expanded length to adequately support its sweeping claims.
Despite these limitations, The Almightier offers valuable perspectives on one of humanity's most important inventions. Vigna's background as a financial journalist brings practical credibility to abstract theoretical discussions, while his accessible writing style makes complex historical and theological concepts understandable to general readers.
The Central Thesis: Money as Religion
Vigna's core argument is both provocative and meticulously researched: money has gradually replaced traditional religion as the organizing principle of Western society. Unlike other financial histories that focus on economic systems or market mechanisms, The Almightier examines money as a belief system with its own moral framework, rituals, and sacred spaces. The author traces this transformation across five millennia, from the temple scribes of ancient Uruk to the gleaming towers of Wall Street.
The book's most compelling insight emerges from Vigna's analysis of how religious authority and monetary power have been intertwined since civilization's earliest days. He demonstrates how temple officials like Kushim, a Mesopotamian accountant whose clay tablets represent some of humanity's oldest writing, established money not just as a measurement tool but as something imbued with divine authority. This connection between the sacred and the financial, Vigna argues, never truly disappeared—it simply evolved.
Structure and Narrative Arc
The Almightier unfolds in two parts that chronicle money's theological evolution. Part I traces the historical development from ancient temple accounting systems through the Renaissance banking revolution, focusing particularly on figures like Cosimo de' Medici and the philosophical shift that made greed socially acceptable. Part II examines how Protestant theology, particularly John Calvin's teachings about wealth as divine favor, provided the moral foundation for modern capitalism.
Vigna's journalistic background serves him well in crafting accessible narratives around complex historical developments. His description of how Poggio Bracciolini's 15th-century dialogue De avaritia intellectually legitimized greed as potentially beneficial reads like a thriller, complete with political intrigue and moral conflict. The author's ability to make medieval banking practices feel relevant to contemporary readers represents one of the book's greatest strengths.
Strengths: Deep Research and Contemporary Relevance
The book's research foundation is impressive. Vigna draws from sources spanning anthropology, theology, economic history, and philosophy to construct his argument. His analysis of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism feels particularly fresh, as he builds upon Weber's insights about capitalism's religious origins while extending them to examine money's evolution into what he terms "the Almightier."
Vigna excels at connecting historical developments to contemporary issues. His exploration of how debt jubilees functioned in ancient societies feels especially relevant given current debates about student loan forgiveness and wealth inequality. The author's background covering financial markets adds credibility to his observations about how modern financial institutions deliberately employ religious imagery and architecture to reinforce money's quasi-sacred status.
The writing style itself deserves recognition. Vigna adopts a conversational yet authoritative tone that makes complex historical and theological concepts accessible without oversimplification. His occasional use of contemporary analogies—comparing ancient Uruk to New York City, for instance—helps readers understand the scale and significance of historical developments.
Critical Weaknesses and Limitations
Despite its ambitions, The Almightier suffers from several significant limitations. The book's scope, while impressive, sometimes works against its central argument. Vigna attempts to cover five thousand years of history across multiple civilizations, resulting in some superficial treatment of complex topics. His analysis of Islamic and Eastern perspectives on money and wealth feels particularly underdeveloped, limiting the book's claims to universality.
The author's thesis, while provocative, occasionally feels overstated. His argument that money has completely replaced traditional religion overlooks the continued influence of religious institutions and beliefs in modern society. While declining religious observance in Western societies supports part of his argument, Vigna doesn't adequately address how traditional faiths continue to shape attitudes toward wealth and economic behavior.
The book's treatment of potential solutions feels frustratingly brief. After spending hundreds of pages documenting how money became "the Almightier," Vigna offers only limited suggestions for addressing the problems he identifies. His proposal for a global debt jubilee, while historically grounded, receives insufficient analysis regarding practical implementation challenges.
Weber's Shadow and Vigna's Innovation
Vigna's engagement with Max Weber represents both the book's greatest strength and a potential weakness. While his analysis of Weber's insights about capitalism's religious origins is sophisticated and well-argued, some readers may feel that Vigna's central thesis simply extends Weber's century-old observations rather than offering fundamentally new insights.
However, Vigna's contribution lies in his detailed historical documentation of how this process unfolded. His exploration of figures like Cosimo de' Medici and the intellectual evolution that made greed socially acceptable provides concrete historical mechanisms for abstract sociological theories. The author's analysis of how Protestant theology provided moral justification for wealth accumulation offers valuable historical context for understanding contemporary attitudes toward inequality.
Final Assessment: Ambitious but Incomplete
The Almightier succeeds as an ambitious intellectual history that challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions about money's role in society. Vigna's central thesis—that money has evolved into a secular religion—provides a compelling framework for understanding contemporary economic behavior and cultural attitudes toward wealth.
The book's greatest achievement lies in its historical documentation of how religious and monetary authority became intertwined throughout Western civilization. Vigna's analysis of figures like Cosimo de' Medici and theological developments around wealth provides valuable insights into capitalism's moral foundations.
However, the work's scope sometimes exceeds its analytical depth. Vigna's attempt to cover five millennia of history across multiple civilizations results in some superficial treatment of complex topics. The book would benefit from either narrower focus or expanded length to adequately support its sweeping claims.
Despite these limitations, The Almightier offers valuable perspectives on one of humanity's most important inventions. Vigna's background as a financial journalist brings practical credibility to abstract theoretical discussions, while his accessible writing style makes complex historical and theological concepts understandable to general readers.
September 4, 2025
This was such an interesting and eye opening book! The last time I took an econ class was in high school, I somehow managed to dodge it in both undergrad and grad school. This book is like a history of money, its early ties to religion, and the evolution that it underwent to become the driving force of every society on this planet. The author discusses that in the beginning; countries, tribes, and governments bowed down the Almighty, kings, and Popes. Eventually as money lending grew, became accepted, and more intwined with governments and religion it grew to more importance and today Capitalism reigns supreme. Filled with so many interesting factoids, theories, and historical tidbits, this book was interesting and appealing to me as someone who has no idea how the stock market even works. As a history major, I loved the historical aspect of it and I loved learning about how we got to where we are now. I loved the final chapter where the author put forth ways that we could upend the system for better. Would any of them work? I have no idea, again I am not an economist, I am a librarian. And a poor one at that. But regardless I learned a ton and imagine that this book would cause lively debate if people in power and people with money would read it.
October 1, 2025
Some interesting points on the history of usury, along with his advocacy of mass money printing to pay off debt.
I suppose the prevailing question is how you incentivize lending under such a system, or avoid the state being ripped off by debtors.
I suppose the prevailing question is how you incentivize lending under such a system, or avoid the state being ripped off by debtors.
August 11, 2025
Disclosure: There is a kinship relationship between myself and this author; a somewhat distant one, i.e. including two links by marriage, and I have met and interacted with him a few times in past years. His book was brought to my attention via our kinship links, but I do not believe the relationship has otherwise significantly influenced my review.
In recent years, books offering thematic histories in a breezy, popular press style have become a commonplace, e.g. History of the World in 6 Glasses, History of the World in 12 Maps, Salt: A World History, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, A History of the World in 100 objects, Pathogenesis: A History of the World in 8 Plagues, etc.
The Almightier is of this type: a thematic history intended for a general audience. The theme is the relationship between greed and religion, with a dose of politics thrown in for good measure, or simply because it cannot be avoided.
After the Introductory Chapter, each chapter in the first half of the book is a step in this thematic history as told around key figures in the context of their era. Chapter 1 features figures of ancient Mesopotamia, Nehemiah rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, and Aristotle and other Greeks. Chapter 2 is Jesus of Nazareth. Chapter 3 through 5 are a series: Bracciolini, Cosimo de’ Medici, and Pope Nicholas V. Chapter 6 is Benedetto Cotrugli. Chapter 7 is Pope Leo X, Johann Tetzel, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, with a bit from Max Weber to close the first half of the book.
Chapters in the second half have less focus on specific individuals and more on institutions and concepts. Chapter 8 is the age of exploration, with colonialism, capitalism, and slavery. Chapter 9 covers John Law, investment bubbles, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Chapter 10 looks at US history from the Revolution to the Robber Barons, through a lens of Social Darwinism. Chapter 11, “Class Struggle” features Karl Marx and William Jennings Bryan, and takes us to the turn of the century. Chapter 12 is the 20th century, with the philosophy of Ayn Rand and a return to Max Weber.
The final chapter, 13, is a survey of ideas for economic changes starting from the story of Jacob Coxey. The prevailing ethos of American literature almost requires that a book featuring critique of historic social institutions must provide at least a garbage can of “solutions” in its conclusion, but as is often the case in these types of books, a garbage can of possible choices – nod to Mayer Zald – is all we get here. There is no extensive analysis of the likely effects, intended or otherwise that these policies might have, nor much consideration of the practicalities of how they might come to be adopted, i.e. who would advocate for and who oppose them.
If one desires a light historical tour on greed, capitalism, and religion, or a spotlight chapter on any of the featured individuals, all well and fine. It is an interesting read with bits of history you probably don’t already know, and at least a few interesting ideas.
My main critique is that the Introductory chapter sets the book up to be something other than what it is. “Money is a religion”, Vigna writes (p.5) in a tone and context that imply he thinks this will be a revelation to many of his readers. “We swapped worship of a deity with the pursuit of wealth…” (p.8) “Monetary systems… work because of our faith in them.” (p.3) Each of these statements seems to me rather banal, but I am not the intended audience. Perhaps this will be new to others. Mostly, I am disappointed that though the book goes to lengths to explore links between religion and changing views on greed, in changing economic context, I see almost nothing in this book that emphasizes the nature of greed and capitalism as a religion in themselves.
The author seems at odds with himself about whether this even is a thing. Early on he writes “Money is its own morality. Its own value system (p.4), but just a few pages later he seems to contradict himself in writing “Money is silent on values. (p.8)”
“Money isn’t good at being a religion”, he writes, “It wasn’t built to be one and it doesn’t have any of the redeeming qualities of one… doesn’t provide… ecclesiastical, existential, or metaphysical answers. It doesn’t tell you why… you’re here or what you are supposed to do… “ That seems incorrect to me. Vigna cites the character Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street, telling us “greed is good”, and FDR’s fireside chat underscoring the need for the public to have faith in money. Those certainly seem religious. Doesn’t money preach that we, and all people in society, should be valued according to the almighty dollar, another thing Vigna had already noted, and that we exist mainly to accumulate economic value? Also, that decisions should be made toward whatever will most profitable, something it refers to as economic “rationality”? It teaches us a “law” of supply and demand. To my mind, this is a substantial bundle of ecclesiastically and existential answers.
Similarly he writes “Nobody teaches [the religion of greed] to us. Nobody explains its precepts. Nobody recites its catechism… everyone knows it instinctively.” This too seems wrong to me. Greed as such seems not to have existed prior to civilization, and as this history itself suggests, seems much stronger in modern, capitalist society than at any time prior to 1500 AD. These observations suggests it is learned behavior, not instinct. Certainly looking at our society we see lots of channels by which we are taught these things. Our parents and teachers teach us how to use and think about money. Many of them, emphasize “work ethic” and see wealth as something desirable. Beyond that, our culture teaches us all kinds of stories and lessons about money, not least among them the barrage of ads implying that money is a means for us to buy happiness.
Vigna never defines what he means by a religion, though one gets the sense from his examples that for him religion must feature symbols, the architecture of churches or temples, a priesthood, and rituals; all things that are marginal to my concept of religion.
I think Chapter 2 does a decent job of relating the anti-greed narrative in the teaching and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, but insofar as the bundle of ecclesiastically and existential answers provided by capitalism seem set more or less directly opposed to those offered by Christianity, it seems to me that opportunities were missed. There is no reference to “blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, only indirect reference to alms, gleaning, or otherwise giving to the needy, no mention of how the widow giving two coins is giving more than the alms of the wealth, who are only giving from their excess. There is no mention of the commandment to “not store up treasures on earth…”, of the commandment to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”, of the parable of the workers in the vineyard, nor of the primitive church being communist, as described in Acts.
Perhaps the greatest omission of all is any reference to “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and Money/Mammon”, where Jesus says in effect that greed and capitalism is the antithesis of God’s work. What could possibly be more germane in a book about Christianity contorting things to accept and even embrace wealth as godly?
“Love others as you love yourself”, which gets a passing reference, is another missed opportunity. We tend to focus on the first two words and overlook the last four, but there is some reason to imagine the last four are as important, or more important than the first two, and we take that to heart, even as an ideal, we should recognize that this is itself a call to communism. There is no way to love others as yourself, so long as there is property, wealth, or greed. The other great thing about this quote is it forces one to realize that Jesus of Nazareth, some 2000 years ago, understood that money is a social relationship, something many people even today fail to realize, and even the author of this book does not seem entirely clear about.
Which brings me to my final set of quibbles: statements that seem of dubious validity.
Money, Vigna tells us on p.3, “isn’t real”. Is friendship real? Is kinship real? Is religion real? I think most people would say yes, they are, and money is just as real as any of those three. Linking “reality” to things with “objective existence” is problematic, because everything we know – our entire sphere of operation, and everything “real” – is necessarily subjective. That money is a social construct, does not make it a fiction. It is a real social relationship, of great importance in our society, and with very real, often dire consequences.
“Five thousand years ago, people’s primary motivation in life was to please imaginary gods….” Could be true, but seems dubious. What is the evidence? Moreover, how is it relevant to this story? If this statement were removed, I don’t think it changes anything.
“Today the primary motivation is to make money.”
Maybe, but Vigna goes on to speak of all the things money can bring – food, shelter, security, comfort, peace of mind, longer and healthier life, etc – suggesting that the motivation to make money is indirect, as a means to other things, other ends.
“Society ties your self-worth to your salary. That’s what your salary is.”
I think there is a lot of validity to this, but strictly speaking a salary or wage is a negotiated value between just two entities, i.e. an employer and an employee. Other people, the rest of society, is free to differ in their valuation.
Also, the idea has inherent absurdities. If faced with a choice between killing a corporate owner with an income in excess of a million dollars per day, versus average people who take ten to twenty years to bring in that sum, if we kill the one then the concept of salary as society worth is rendered absurd, or if the concept is valid, then we have an absurdity of killing 4000 to save one. The case of Luigi Mangione may speak to that.
“Money became… a source of power and wealth in itself.”
Became? Money is, at its essence, commodified wealth and insofar as wealth is a basis of power, e.g. capital, money has been wealth and power from its inception.
“Nations… previously… based around the religion-fed authority of kings and popes swapped them out and rebuilt their governments on the authority of the citizens themselves.” (p.7) This sentence conflates government built on authority of citizens, i.e. democracy, with one built on money or greed. Yes, democracy gave freer rein (or reign?) to capitalism than monarchy or feudalism could, but there is a tension between democracy and capitalism. Democracy is government of, for, and by the people. Its natural economic pair is Socialism, economy of, for, and by the people. Capitalism is economy of, for, and by the money. Its natural political pair is not democracy, but plutocracy.
“most of the gospel stories are miracle stories” (p.37)
Online references count a maximum of 37 miracles in the gospels. My NIV Study Bible breaks out 98 separate stories just in the 28 chapters of Matthew, without even considering stories that might only be in Luke or John, or Acts, and treating the entire Sermon on the Mount as just ONE story. If we break the Sermon on the Mount into its various pieces, we add 18 more stories. By that count, miracle stories are only about a third of the gospel stories..
“Greed is an ingrained human emotion” (p.76)
What is the evidence? I think history shows us greed is learned behavior.
“I still believe in the man [Jesus of Nazareth] and in the moral philosophy he preached, which is why I care about this story, and why I see it as central to this entire tale of money and morality.” The fact that Jesus is the focus of the world’s largest religions, and thus a story that leverages him has a global audience wouldn’t be a factor here, would it? LOL.
“The ethos upon which the United States was founded – that all men are created equal – is one of the most world-changing ideas that’s ever existed”
I do not believe the US is founded on the idea that all men are created equal. I think the idea all men are created equal is self-evidently false, a bit of empty rhetoric Jefferson borrowed from Locke because he wanted a deeper foundation than simply saying government are instituted by men to secure their rights, and that any society that truly was based on that idea would be an epic failure.
“the main thing that’s kept us from changing our economics to match our conditions is a fundamental misunderstanding about what money… is and how we’ve come to value it the way we do.”
I’m skeptical. College freshman, asked to implement a campaign for social change, often imagine that education alone will suffice, naively ignoring inertia, self-interest, and opposition. We have large numbers of people dependent on the system, and other, powerful people who profit from it. Thinking that it is simply a misunderstanding to be resolved by education is the stereotypical naïve mistake of those college freshmen. People change when they see something of value in it, especially if they themselves stand to benefit, and fight against change when they see something they stand to lose.
In recent years, books offering thematic histories in a breezy, popular press style have become a commonplace, e.g. History of the World in 6 Glasses, History of the World in 12 Maps, Salt: A World History, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, A History of the World in 100 objects, Pathogenesis: A History of the World in 8 Plagues, etc.
The Almightier is of this type: a thematic history intended for a general audience. The theme is the relationship between greed and religion, with a dose of politics thrown in for good measure, or simply because it cannot be avoided.
After the Introductory Chapter, each chapter in the first half of the book is a step in this thematic history as told around key figures in the context of their era. Chapter 1 features figures of ancient Mesopotamia, Nehemiah rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, and Aristotle and other Greeks. Chapter 2 is Jesus of Nazareth. Chapter 3 through 5 are a series: Bracciolini, Cosimo de’ Medici, and Pope Nicholas V. Chapter 6 is Benedetto Cotrugli. Chapter 7 is Pope Leo X, Johann Tetzel, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, with a bit from Max Weber to close the first half of the book.
Chapters in the second half have less focus on specific individuals and more on institutions and concepts. Chapter 8 is the age of exploration, with colonialism, capitalism, and slavery. Chapter 9 covers John Law, investment bubbles, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Chapter 10 looks at US history from the Revolution to the Robber Barons, through a lens of Social Darwinism. Chapter 11, “Class Struggle” features Karl Marx and William Jennings Bryan, and takes us to the turn of the century. Chapter 12 is the 20th century, with the philosophy of Ayn Rand and a return to Max Weber.
The final chapter, 13, is a survey of ideas for economic changes starting from the story of Jacob Coxey. The prevailing ethos of American literature almost requires that a book featuring critique of historic social institutions must provide at least a garbage can of “solutions” in its conclusion, but as is often the case in these types of books, a garbage can of possible choices – nod to Mayer Zald – is all we get here. There is no extensive analysis of the likely effects, intended or otherwise that these policies might have, nor much consideration of the practicalities of how they might come to be adopted, i.e. who would advocate for and who oppose them.
If one desires a light historical tour on greed, capitalism, and religion, or a spotlight chapter on any of the featured individuals, all well and fine. It is an interesting read with bits of history you probably don’t already know, and at least a few interesting ideas.
My main critique is that the Introductory chapter sets the book up to be something other than what it is. “Money is a religion”, Vigna writes (p.5) in a tone and context that imply he thinks this will be a revelation to many of his readers. “We swapped worship of a deity with the pursuit of wealth…” (p.8) “Monetary systems… work because of our faith in them.” (p.3) Each of these statements seems to me rather banal, but I am not the intended audience. Perhaps this will be new to others. Mostly, I am disappointed that though the book goes to lengths to explore links between religion and changing views on greed, in changing economic context, I see almost nothing in this book that emphasizes the nature of greed and capitalism as a religion in themselves.
The author seems at odds with himself about whether this even is a thing. Early on he writes “Money is its own morality. Its own value system (p.4), but just a few pages later he seems to contradict himself in writing “Money is silent on values. (p.8)”
“Money isn’t good at being a religion”, he writes, “It wasn’t built to be one and it doesn’t have any of the redeeming qualities of one… doesn’t provide… ecclesiastical, existential, or metaphysical answers. It doesn’t tell you why… you’re here or what you are supposed to do… “ That seems incorrect to me. Vigna cites the character Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street, telling us “greed is good”, and FDR’s fireside chat underscoring the need for the public to have faith in money. Those certainly seem religious. Doesn’t money preach that we, and all people in society, should be valued according to the almighty dollar, another thing Vigna had already noted, and that we exist mainly to accumulate economic value? Also, that decisions should be made toward whatever will most profitable, something it refers to as economic “rationality”? It teaches us a “law” of supply and demand. To my mind, this is a substantial bundle of ecclesiastically and existential answers.
Similarly he writes “Nobody teaches [the religion of greed] to us. Nobody explains its precepts. Nobody recites its catechism… everyone knows it instinctively.” This too seems wrong to me. Greed as such seems not to have existed prior to civilization, and as this history itself suggests, seems much stronger in modern, capitalist society than at any time prior to 1500 AD. These observations suggests it is learned behavior, not instinct. Certainly looking at our society we see lots of channels by which we are taught these things. Our parents and teachers teach us how to use and think about money. Many of them, emphasize “work ethic” and see wealth as something desirable. Beyond that, our culture teaches us all kinds of stories and lessons about money, not least among them the barrage of ads implying that money is a means for us to buy happiness.
Vigna never defines what he means by a religion, though one gets the sense from his examples that for him religion must feature symbols, the architecture of churches or temples, a priesthood, and rituals; all things that are marginal to my concept of religion.
I think Chapter 2 does a decent job of relating the anti-greed narrative in the teaching and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, but insofar as the bundle of ecclesiastically and existential answers provided by capitalism seem set more or less directly opposed to those offered by Christianity, it seems to me that opportunities were missed. There is no reference to “blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, only indirect reference to alms, gleaning, or otherwise giving to the needy, no mention of how the widow giving two coins is giving more than the alms of the wealth, who are only giving from their excess. There is no mention of the commandment to “not store up treasures on earth…”, of the commandment to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”, of the parable of the workers in the vineyard, nor of the primitive church being communist, as described in Acts.
Perhaps the greatest omission of all is any reference to “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and Money/Mammon”, where Jesus says in effect that greed and capitalism is the antithesis of God’s work. What could possibly be more germane in a book about Christianity contorting things to accept and even embrace wealth as godly?
“Love others as you love yourself”, which gets a passing reference, is another missed opportunity. We tend to focus on the first two words and overlook the last four, but there is some reason to imagine the last four are as important, or more important than the first two, and we take that to heart, even as an ideal, we should recognize that this is itself a call to communism. There is no way to love others as yourself, so long as there is property, wealth, or greed. The other great thing about this quote is it forces one to realize that Jesus of Nazareth, some 2000 years ago, understood that money is a social relationship, something many people even today fail to realize, and even the author of this book does not seem entirely clear about.
Which brings me to my final set of quibbles: statements that seem of dubious validity.
Money, Vigna tells us on p.3, “isn’t real”. Is friendship real? Is kinship real? Is religion real? I think most people would say yes, they are, and money is just as real as any of those three. Linking “reality” to things with “objective existence” is problematic, because everything we know – our entire sphere of operation, and everything “real” – is necessarily subjective. That money is a social construct, does not make it a fiction. It is a real social relationship, of great importance in our society, and with very real, often dire consequences.
“Five thousand years ago, people’s primary motivation in life was to please imaginary gods….” Could be true, but seems dubious. What is the evidence? Moreover, how is it relevant to this story? If this statement were removed, I don’t think it changes anything.
“Today the primary motivation is to make money.”
Maybe, but Vigna goes on to speak of all the things money can bring – food, shelter, security, comfort, peace of mind, longer and healthier life, etc – suggesting that the motivation to make money is indirect, as a means to other things, other ends.
“Society ties your self-worth to your salary. That’s what your salary is.”
I think there is a lot of validity to this, but strictly speaking a salary or wage is a negotiated value between just two entities, i.e. an employer and an employee. Other people, the rest of society, is free to differ in their valuation.
Also, the idea has inherent absurdities. If faced with a choice between killing a corporate owner with an income in excess of a million dollars per day, versus average people who take ten to twenty years to bring in that sum, if we kill the one then the concept of salary as society worth is rendered absurd, or if the concept is valid, then we have an absurdity of killing 4000 to save one. The case of Luigi Mangione may speak to that.
“Money became… a source of power and wealth in itself.”
Became? Money is, at its essence, commodified wealth and insofar as wealth is a basis of power, e.g. capital, money has been wealth and power from its inception.
“Nations… previously… based around the religion-fed authority of kings and popes swapped them out and rebuilt their governments on the authority of the citizens themselves.” (p.7) This sentence conflates government built on authority of citizens, i.e. democracy, with one built on money or greed. Yes, democracy gave freer rein (or reign?) to capitalism than monarchy or feudalism could, but there is a tension between democracy and capitalism. Democracy is government of, for, and by the people. Its natural economic pair is Socialism, economy of, for, and by the people. Capitalism is economy of, for, and by the money. Its natural political pair is not democracy, but plutocracy.
“most of the gospel stories are miracle stories” (p.37)
Online references count a maximum of 37 miracles in the gospels. My NIV Study Bible breaks out 98 separate stories just in the 28 chapters of Matthew, without even considering stories that might only be in Luke or John, or Acts, and treating the entire Sermon on the Mount as just ONE story. If we break the Sermon on the Mount into its various pieces, we add 18 more stories. By that count, miracle stories are only about a third of the gospel stories..
“Greed is an ingrained human emotion” (p.76)
What is the evidence? I think history shows us greed is learned behavior.
“I still believe in the man [Jesus of Nazareth] and in the moral philosophy he preached, which is why I care about this story, and why I see it as central to this entire tale of money and morality.” The fact that Jesus is the focus of the world’s largest religions, and thus a story that leverages him has a global audience wouldn’t be a factor here, would it? LOL.
“The ethos upon which the United States was founded – that all men are created equal – is one of the most world-changing ideas that’s ever existed”
I do not believe the US is founded on the idea that all men are created equal. I think the idea all men are created equal is self-evidently false, a bit of empty rhetoric Jefferson borrowed from Locke because he wanted a deeper foundation than simply saying government are instituted by men to secure their rights, and that any society that truly was based on that idea would be an epic failure.
“the main thing that’s kept us from changing our economics to match our conditions is a fundamental misunderstanding about what money… is and how we’ve come to value it the way we do.”
I’m skeptical. College freshman, asked to implement a campaign for social change, often imagine that education alone will suffice, naively ignoring inertia, self-interest, and opposition. We have large numbers of people dependent on the system, and other, powerful people who profit from it. Thinking that it is simply a misunderstanding to be resolved by education is the stereotypical naïve mistake of those college freshmen. People change when they see something of value in it, especially if they themselves stand to benefit, and fight against change when they see something they stand to lose.
Read
September 13, 2025In "The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin", Paul Vigna takes readers on an ambitious journey through 5,000 years of history, tracing how money evolved from a simple tool for trade into something far more powerful - our collective obsession and guiding force. Vigna argues that money is not real in any tangible sense; it is a shared belief, a story we all agree to participate in. This shared faith allows bits of paper, lumps of metal, or digital code to hold value. But over centuries, this human invention has taken on spiritual dimensions, shaping moral systems, religions, and political structures. What began as a mechanism for facilitating cooperation now dominates our thinking, rewarding greed and defining social worth. Vigna’s exploration shows how money became society’s ultimate measure and how this transformation changed humanity’s relationship with morality, faith, and power.
The narrative begins in ancient Mesopotamia, in cities like Uruk, where temples served as centers of both worship and economic coordination. Priests managed stores of grain and silver, recording debts on clay tablets and treating repayment as a moral obligation as much as a financial one. Interest-bearing loans and compound interest quickly created hierarchies of power, occasionally threatening social stability. Rulers responded by issuing amargi decrees, which forgave debts and restored balance. These periodic resets prevented inequality from tearing apart early civilizations, a theme Vigna suggests is still relevant today. With the arrival of coins in the seventh century BCE, money became portable, trade expanded, and the pursuit of wealth intensified. Aristotle contemplated these developments, arguing that money was a human invention that could serve society well if used for exchange but corrode it if hoarded or used to create more money through interest. Still, he praised the idea of 'magnificence' - the wealthy using their resources to fund public works. This laid the groundwork for the idea that wealth could be virtuous when put to social use.
The next major turning point came with the teachings of Yeshua, or Jesus, in first-century Judea. His ministry carried a radical economic message: wealth could be a spiritual barrier, and debts were meant to be forgiven. By occupying the temple, driving out money changers, and possibly destroying debt records, Jesus made a bold statement that God’s kingdom demanded justice for the poor. Early Christian thinkers carried this ethos forward, condemning usury and restricting interest rates. For centuries, the church’s stance kept greed in check, but history intervened. The Black Death disrupted Europe’s feudal order, giving rise to new wealth and a need for rebuilding. Thinkers like Antoninus reinterpreted Aristotle’s notion of magnificence, encouraging the rich to invest in public projects. Slowly, the moral stigma around profit began to lift. What had been considered avarice became seen as ambition, even necessity. This shift paved the way for a worldview in which accumulating wealth could be considered an act of service to society.
Nowhere was this transformation more visible than in Renaissance Florence under Cosimo de’ Medici. Cosimo turned his family’s banking fortune into cultural and civic capital, funding cathedrals, libraries, and works of art that shaped Florence’s identity. His wealth became a form of power that rivaled monarchs, and the Medici family’s influence extended into the papacy itself, with Pope Leo X financing the church’s grandeur by selling indulgences. This commercialization of salvation scandalized many, triggering Martin Luther’s protests and the Protestant Reformation. Reformers like John Calvin reframed the relationship between money and faith, teaching that wealth could be a sign of divine favor but also a divine responsibility. Calvinism ultimately laid the groundwork for the Protestant Work Ethic, which tied labor and economic productivity to moral purpose. Gradually, wealth accumulation became not only permissible but evidence of virtue.
The Age of Exploration pushed this ideology into more violent territory. European empires pursued gold, glory, and God, justifying conquest as both profitable and righteous. The decimation of indigenous populations and the rise of the transatlantic slave trade marked the collapse of any pretense that greed was benign. Profit became justification for exploitation, and even scripture was twisted to defend slavery. Vigna argues that this era sanctified greed as divine will, embedding racial and economic hierarchies that still shape societies today. The Enlightenment brought new critiques of this system, most famously in Rousseau’s 'Discourse on Inequality', which blamed money for corrupting natural equality. But Adam Smith’s 'The Wealth of Nations' offered a powerful counterargument, portraying commerce as a system that could benefit everyone. Smith’s concept of the 'invisible hand' suggested that the pursuit of self-interest could yield collective prosperity, effectively giving capitalism a moral and quasi-religious foundation. His ideas provided justification for centuries of market-driven thinking.
In the United States, money became even more enshrined as the foundation of the new republic. Following the Revolution, the nation’s elites pushed for a strong Constitution to protect creditors’ rights and secure private property, ensuring that wealth remained central to governance. Over time, economic thought became more mechanistic and detached from moral considerations. Thomas Malthus famously argued that poverty and famine were inevitable, discouraging aid to the poor, while Charles Darwin’s ideas were misappropriated to justify Social Darwinism, allowing industrialists like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt to portray their dominance as natural law. By the late nineteenth century, this new religion of money was fully formed, promising that anyone could rise if they were industrious enough, and sanctifying the ruthless pursuit of profit as progress.
Vigna then follows the intellectual and moral evolution into the modern era, tracing how Karl Marx identified capital as the product of labor and condemned the exploitation inherent in the system. Marx’s revolutionary ideas shook Europe but never fully took hold in the United States, where workers sought fairer wages rather than revolution. Max Weber further spiritualized capitalism, suggesting that hard work and economic success provided existential meaning in a disenchanted, post-religious world. In the twentieth century, Ayn Rand brought this trajectory to its logical endpoint, declaring selfishness not just acceptable but morally superior. Her philosophy of Objectivism stripped capitalism of any obligation to society, glorifying the individual as the ultimate value. By the time Gordon Gekko famously declared 'greed is good' in the film 'Wall Street', the transformation was complete - money had become society’s ultimate creed.
Vigna closes by arguing that this long entanglement of money, morality, and power is not destiny. Because money is a human invention, it can be reinvented. He advocates for practical reforms, including capping predatory interest rates, rethinking credit systems, and even enacting modern debt jubilees to free struggling nations and individuals from impossible burdens. History shows that societies have always found ways to reset when inequality became unbearable. The author urges readers to reclaim the Golden Rule as a guiding principle and rebuild a financial system that fosters cooperation rather than division.
In conclusion, "The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin" offers a sweeping history of humanity’s evolving relationship with money, showing how a neutral tool became a moral and spiritual force that dominates modern life. Vigna challenges readers to recognize that our money system is not immutable and that we have the power to reshape it into something more humane. By recovering ancient wisdom about debt forgiveness and tempering unrestrained greed, we can build a future where money once again serves humanity rather than the other way around.
The narrative begins in ancient Mesopotamia, in cities like Uruk, where temples served as centers of both worship and economic coordination. Priests managed stores of grain and silver, recording debts on clay tablets and treating repayment as a moral obligation as much as a financial one. Interest-bearing loans and compound interest quickly created hierarchies of power, occasionally threatening social stability. Rulers responded by issuing amargi decrees, which forgave debts and restored balance. These periodic resets prevented inequality from tearing apart early civilizations, a theme Vigna suggests is still relevant today. With the arrival of coins in the seventh century BCE, money became portable, trade expanded, and the pursuit of wealth intensified. Aristotle contemplated these developments, arguing that money was a human invention that could serve society well if used for exchange but corrode it if hoarded or used to create more money through interest. Still, he praised the idea of 'magnificence' - the wealthy using their resources to fund public works. This laid the groundwork for the idea that wealth could be virtuous when put to social use.
The next major turning point came with the teachings of Yeshua, or Jesus, in first-century Judea. His ministry carried a radical economic message: wealth could be a spiritual barrier, and debts were meant to be forgiven. By occupying the temple, driving out money changers, and possibly destroying debt records, Jesus made a bold statement that God’s kingdom demanded justice for the poor. Early Christian thinkers carried this ethos forward, condemning usury and restricting interest rates. For centuries, the church’s stance kept greed in check, but history intervened. The Black Death disrupted Europe’s feudal order, giving rise to new wealth and a need for rebuilding. Thinkers like Antoninus reinterpreted Aristotle’s notion of magnificence, encouraging the rich to invest in public projects. Slowly, the moral stigma around profit began to lift. What had been considered avarice became seen as ambition, even necessity. This shift paved the way for a worldview in which accumulating wealth could be considered an act of service to society.
Nowhere was this transformation more visible than in Renaissance Florence under Cosimo de’ Medici. Cosimo turned his family’s banking fortune into cultural and civic capital, funding cathedrals, libraries, and works of art that shaped Florence’s identity. His wealth became a form of power that rivaled monarchs, and the Medici family’s influence extended into the papacy itself, with Pope Leo X financing the church’s grandeur by selling indulgences. This commercialization of salvation scandalized many, triggering Martin Luther’s protests and the Protestant Reformation. Reformers like John Calvin reframed the relationship between money and faith, teaching that wealth could be a sign of divine favor but also a divine responsibility. Calvinism ultimately laid the groundwork for the Protestant Work Ethic, which tied labor and economic productivity to moral purpose. Gradually, wealth accumulation became not only permissible but evidence of virtue.
The Age of Exploration pushed this ideology into more violent territory. European empires pursued gold, glory, and God, justifying conquest as both profitable and righteous. The decimation of indigenous populations and the rise of the transatlantic slave trade marked the collapse of any pretense that greed was benign. Profit became justification for exploitation, and even scripture was twisted to defend slavery. Vigna argues that this era sanctified greed as divine will, embedding racial and economic hierarchies that still shape societies today. The Enlightenment brought new critiques of this system, most famously in Rousseau’s 'Discourse on Inequality', which blamed money for corrupting natural equality. But Adam Smith’s 'The Wealth of Nations' offered a powerful counterargument, portraying commerce as a system that could benefit everyone. Smith’s concept of the 'invisible hand' suggested that the pursuit of self-interest could yield collective prosperity, effectively giving capitalism a moral and quasi-religious foundation. His ideas provided justification for centuries of market-driven thinking.
In the United States, money became even more enshrined as the foundation of the new republic. Following the Revolution, the nation’s elites pushed for a strong Constitution to protect creditors’ rights and secure private property, ensuring that wealth remained central to governance. Over time, economic thought became more mechanistic and detached from moral considerations. Thomas Malthus famously argued that poverty and famine were inevitable, discouraging aid to the poor, while Charles Darwin’s ideas were misappropriated to justify Social Darwinism, allowing industrialists like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt to portray their dominance as natural law. By the late nineteenth century, this new religion of money was fully formed, promising that anyone could rise if they were industrious enough, and sanctifying the ruthless pursuit of profit as progress.
Vigna then follows the intellectual and moral evolution into the modern era, tracing how Karl Marx identified capital as the product of labor and condemned the exploitation inherent in the system. Marx’s revolutionary ideas shook Europe but never fully took hold in the United States, where workers sought fairer wages rather than revolution. Max Weber further spiritualized capitalism, suggesting that hard work and economic success provided existential meaning in a disenchanted, post-religious world. In the twentieth century, Ayn Rand brought this trajectory to its logical endpoint, declaring selfishness not just acceptable but morally superior. Her philosophy of Objectivism stripped capitalism of any obligation to society, glorifying the individual as the ultimate value. By the time Gordon Gekko famously declared 'greed is good' in the film 'Wall Street', the transformation was complete - money had become society’s ultimate creed.
Vigna closes by arguing that this long entanglement of money, morality, and power is not destiny. Because money is a human invention, it can be reinvented. He advocates for practical reforms, including capping predatory interest rates, rethinking credit systems, and even enacting modern debt jubilees to free struggling nations and individuals from impossible burdens. History shows that societies have always found ways to reset when inequality became unbearable. The author urges readers to reclaim the Golden Rule as a guiding principle and rebuild a financial system that fosters cooperation rather than division.
In conclusion, "The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin" offers a sweeping history of humanity’s evolving relationship with money, showing how a neutral tool became a moral and spiritual force that dominates modern life. Vigna challenges readers to recognize that our money system is not immutable and that we have the power to reshape it into something more humane. By recovering ancient wisdom about debt forgiveness and tempering unrestrained greed, we can build a future where money once again serves humanity rather than the other way around.
August 25, 2025
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needlethan for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25
No truer words have ever been said…
This was a fascinating book detailing the evolving or devolving relationship between God and money. Focussed on Christianity and shows the relationship between wealth, power and religion as it develops.
I found it fascinating to watch the byplay of the use of religion to control wealth and power bounce around throughout history.
By the end, author, Paul Vigna outline some of his ideas on how we can prevent this greed from ruining the world, or life, as we know it by moving away from the current wealth system.
The audiobook narrated by Rob Reider was well done and easy to listen to. His pacing was smooth and Deb provided good context and emphasis to important aspects of the text.
No truer words have ever been said…
This was a fascinating book detailing the evolving or devolving relationship between God and money. Focussed on Christianity and shows the relationship between wealth, power and religion as it develops.
I found it fascinating to watch the byplay of the use of religion to control wealth and power bounce around throughout history.
By the end, author, Paul Vigna outline some of his ideas on how we can prevent this greed from ruining the world, or life, as we know it by moving away from the current wealth system.
The audiobook narrated by Rob Reider was well done and easy to listen to. His pacing was smooth and Deb provided good context and emphasis to important aspects of the text.
October 20, 2025
How did money become America’s god?
Sure, a lot of Americans will take offense at the idea. They believe in God Almighty. And that’s why Paul Vigna spoke of money as “the Almightier” in The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin (galley received as part of early review program).
In it, the author considers the history of money in the “Western” world and our relationship to it. He began in Mesopotamian days with the beginning of the concept of money, debt, and necessary debt releases. He considers Jesus and maintains his very unique (and not a little distorted) take on Him as primarily interested in pursuing a debt release for all the poor Galileans and Judeans of the early first century.
The author’s real focus sharpens with the late medieval period in Italy, making much of Braccolini’s work seeking to justify and vindicate traders and merchants as able to maintain righteousness through commerce. He traces the influence of this work on the de Medici family of Florence in all of their doings, all the way up to Pope Leo X and Luther’s reaction to indulgences.
He continues the narrative into American history with the religious and socio-cultural development of our attitudes toward money: Puritan encouragement of finding religious meaning in vocation, Smith’s justification of the “invisible hand” of the market and baptism of self-interest, Weber justifying the Protestant work ethic, the justification of wealth inequality by means of philanthropy, and the modern justification of greed as good in and of itself.
In the end, the author strongly encourages a form of debt relief for all by essentially printing money to cover all debt and using the coercive force of the nation-state to maintain prices to combat inflation.
The author’s take on Jesus cannot be well-justified; the author could have really used better editing in this beginning section, which is the weakest in the whole book. Otherwise the author’s exploration of the history of our relationship with money is highly illustrative. I probably don’t want to know what the country has been reduced to if the day of his jubilee debt release takes place.
Sure, a lot of Americans will take offense at the idea. They believe in God Almighty. And that’s why Paul Vigna spoke of money as “the Almightier” in The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin (galley received as part of early review program).
In it, the author considers the history of money in the “Western” world and our relationship to it. He began in Mesopotamian days with the beginning of the concept of money, debt, and necessary debt releases. He considers Jesus and maintains his very unique (and not a little distorted) take on Him as primarily interested in pursuing a debt release for all the poor Galileans and Judeans of the early first century.
The author’s real focus sharpens with the late medieval period in Italy, making much of Braccolini’s work seeking to justify and vindicate traders and merchants as able to maintain righteousness through commerce. He traces the influence of this work on the de Medici family of Florence in all of their doings, all the way up to Pope Leo X and Luther’s reaction to indulgences.
He continues the narrative into American history with the religious and socio-cultural development of our attitudes toward money: Puritan encouragement of finding religious meaning in vocation, Smith’s justification of the “invisible hand” of the market and baptism of self-interest, Weber justifying the Protestant work ethic, the justification of wealth inequality by means of philanthropy, and the modern justification of greed as good in and of itself.
In the end, the author strongly encourages a form of debt relief for all by essentially printing money to cover all debt and using the coercive force of the nation-state to maintain prices to combat inflation.
The author’s take on Jesus cannot be well-justified; the author could have really used better editing in this beginning section, which is the weakest in the whole book. Otherwise the author’s exploration of the history of our relationship with money is highly illustrative. I probably don’t want to know what the country has been reduced to if the day of his jubilee debt release takes place.
August 8, 2025
I just finished The Almightier - How money became God, Greed became virtue and Debt Became Sin by Paul Vigna and here is my review.
Ever wondered how we ended up being a civilization that can’t function without a monetary system? You should check this book out.
It was enlightening for sure. Do I feel it's 100% correct? No. It was a weird angle to talk about christianity and its pursuit for wealth but only capitalism needs reform? It makes me think that the author believes money and not religion is 100% at fault and yet the Pope sits on enough gold to end world hunger and still dresses in jewels…
I see what the author was trying to do but I really don’t feel like their reform ideas were correct. I did enjoy the historical aspects of the book and it was well researched and written but I just think their opinions are a bit flat. Some things I did agree with and some things I did not. You can’t just abolish debt. It does not work like that. Do you know what happens? Things go up in price and the cost of living.. There is always a pitfall of things like this. Money is worth LESS! Counterintuitive as it may well feel… It’s a fact. Anyone with basic knowledge of economics and the power of borrowing vs using their own money. That debt is wiped from businesses who make money from interest. They don’t give up money easily so I have some serious doubts about the validity of the ideology being used.
I did enjoy reading the book because I felt there is a lot of good quality info in here and a lot of jumping off points to do your own research.
3.5 stars
Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
Ever wondered how we ended up being a civilization that can’t function without a monetary system? You should check this book out.
It was enlightening for sure. Do I feel it's 100% correct? No. It was a weird angle to talk about christianity and its pursuit for wealth but only capitalism needs reform? It makes me think that the author believes money and not religion is 100% at fault and yet the Pope sits on enough gold to end world hunger and still dresses in jewels…
I see what the author was trying to do but I really don’t feel like their reform ideas were correct. I did enjoy the historical aspects of the book and it was well researched and written but I just think their opinions are a bit flat. Some things I did agree with and some things I did not. You can’t just abolish debt. It does not work like that. Do you know what happens? Things go up in price and the cost of living.. There is always a pitfall of things like this. Money is worth LESS! Counterintuitive as it may well feel… It’s a fact. Anyone with basic knowledge of economics and the power of borrowing vs using their own money. That debt is wiped from businesses who make money from interest. They don’t give up money easily so I have some serious doubts about the validity of the ideology being used.
I did enjoy reading the book because I felt there is a lot of good quality info in here and a lot of jumping off points to do your own research.
3.5 stars
Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
June 28, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the advanced copy of the audiobook.
This book was so interesting and right up my alley! I am deeply fascinated by theology and also finance. The Almightier is packed with the history of money with emphasis on greed’s long time and historical impact on society - with an emphasis on Christianity’s impact on Western culture surrounding money.
All the major religions have holy writings that condemn greed, and yet, here we are with religious greed ruling a lot of the world’s cultures. It’s a fascinating look at the apologetics that allow people to let their greed run wild.
As an accoutant, the section of this book on double entry accounting being part of Renaissance Catholicism as a way to express moral piety was very interesting to me.
The first half of the book focuses a lot on Catholicism and then the second part of the book moves on to address the culture of money in the ever-expanding wider Protestant and non-Catholic Christian culture. I appreciated Vigna addressing slavery in the American South, which was justified by Christian apologetics, specific Bible verses, and the Protestant work ethic/economic prosperity. The book wrapped up with an analysis of capitalism painted as a religion in Ayn Rand’s writings.
The author, Paul Vigna, is a long time journalist focusing on money and currency. This is a book that is packed with history, theology, and makes for great dinner conversation. I highly recommend it to anyone with interest in money, greed, religion and how they are intertwined.
This book was so interesting and right up my alley! I am deeply fascinated by theology and also finance. The Almightier is packed with the history of money with emphasis on greed’s long time and historical impact on society - with an emphasis on Christianity’s impact on Western culture surrounding money.
All the major religions have holy writings that condemn greed, and yet, here we are with religious greed ruling a lot of the world’s cultures. It’s a fascinating look at the apologetics that allow people to let their greed run wild.
As an accoutant, the section of this book on double entry accounting being part of Renaissance Catholicism as a way to express moral piety was very interesting to me.
The first half of the book focuses a lot on Catholicism and then the second part of the book moves on to address the culture of money in the ever-expanding wider Protestant and non-Catholic Christian culture. I appreciated Vigna addressing slavery in the American South, which was justified by Christian apologetics, specific Bible verses, and the Protestant work ethic/economic prosperity. The book wrapped up with an analysis of capitalism painted as a religion in Ayn Rand’s writings.
The author, Paul Vigna, is a long time journalist focusing on money and currency. This is a book that is packed with history, theology, and makes for great dinner conversation. I highly recommend it to anyone with interest in money, greed, religion and how they are intertwined.
September 8, 2025
On the whole I found this to be a quick, informative read. The author traces the history of debt and greed, beginning with the ancient world. In that world, the amargi or jubilee was an edict by which all debt (including that of indentured servants) was wiped out, and everyone started from a clean slate. In the final chapter, Vigna suggests that we need that right now in order to halt or reverse the ever widening gap between the rich and everyone else.
He then turns to the ways in which the concept of beneficial greed (argued for by some Renaissance thinkers) transformed itself into a praise of greed, simpliciter. Beneficial greed requires that the person who becomes wealthy uses that wealth to benefit society as a whole. But then some protestants argued that wealth was a sign of God's favor, and so individuals felt that they deserved their money and thereby felt no compulsion to give it away. And of course the doctrine of the invisible hand supported the greedy in seeing their drive to amass wealth as all tending to everyone's benefit.
I appreciated Vigna's insistence that money is a construct, and so how we respond in terms of financial policy is often up to us, not a matter of immutable laws. He also rightly criticizes economics as an endeavor in so far as it assumes that there are such laws to be discovered. A worthwhile read for anyone concerned about our current economic inequalities.
He then turns to the ways in which the concept of beneficial greed (argued for by some Renaissance thinkers) transformed itself into a praise of greed, simpliciter. Beneficial greed requires that the person who becomes wealthy uses that wealth to benefit society as a whole. But then some protestants argued that wealth was a sign of God's favor, and so individuals felt that they deserved their money and thereby felt no compulsion to give it away. And of course the doctrine of the invisible hand supported the greedy in seeing their drive to amass wealth as all tending to everyone's benefit.
I appreciated Vigna's insistence that money is a construct, and so how we respond in terms of financial policy is often up to us, not a matter of immutable laws. He also rightly criticizes economics as an endeavor in so far as it assumes that there are such laws to be discovered. A worthwhile read for anyone concerned about our current economic inequalities.
October 21, 2025
Struggling to write down my thoughts: there's a lot packed into 265 pages. It starts with some prehistory and speculation -- so, grain of salt -- but quickly goes into actual history, and you've never seen a perspective like this one. Vigna makes a compelling case, well documented, explaining the global explosion of greed from the end of the Middle Ages through today. Nearly all of it is religion-based, so there's a lot of impenetrable stuff about popes and church politics and this-or-that particular subcult; I skimmed much of it but got the gist.
Informative, surprising, often disturbing and depressing. And convincing. Vigna does not disguise the axe he's grinding, but even with his biases the arguments he proposes are cohesive, insightful, and explanatory. A lot of what we see today makes clear sense in this light. I have some quibbles, but they're all so nitty-gritty -- and so impossible to take action on -- that I'll let them rest. Because in the end this is just academic: useful for learning and understanding, but not for actually doing anything to fix the coming collapse.
Highly recommended, but only for very niche history-and-economy dweebs.
Informative, surprising, often disturbing and depressing. And convincing. Vigna does not disguise the axe he's grinding, but even with his biases the arguments he proposes are cohesive, insightful, and explanatory. A lot of what we see today makes clear sense in this light. I have some quibbles, but they're all so nitty-gritty -- and so impossible to take action on -- that I'll let them rest. Because in the end this is just academic: useful for learning and understanding, but not for actually doing anything to fix the coming collapse.
Highly recommended, but only for very niche history-and-economy dweebs.
June 2, 2025
Thank you to the SMP Early Readers + Saint Martin's Publishing + Netgalley for the gifted copy.
This was a very interesting read. It is very different from what I am used to. This book gives people insight on how we as humans give money the power and importance that it has over everything. It talks about how greed has taken over in politics and religion. However, a lot of it to me seems biased. I could be wrong, and I there are parts that I can agree with and some parts that I can disagree with. I also feels like this could also be backed up by more evidence and research. I feel as if it lacks information. Maybe, I'm just missing the entire point or premise of this book. I think I got lost in certain segments of this book. It had me trailing in certain sections because I couldn't follow it's ideology. Maybe, it's just me. This book could just be completely out of my element.
#SMPEarlyReaders
#StMartinsPress
This was a very interesting read. It is very different from what I am used to. This book gives people insight on how we as humans give money the power and importance that it has over everything. It talks about how greed has taken over in politics and religion. However, a lot of it to me seems biased. I could be wrong, and I there are parts that I can agree with and some parts that I can disagree with. I also feels like this could also be backed up by more evidence and research. I feel as if it lacks information. Maybe, I'm just missing the entire point or premise of this book. I think I got lost in certain segments of this book. It had me trailing in certain sections because I couldn't follow it's ideology. Maybe, it's just me. This book could just be completely out of my element.
#SMPEarlyReaders
#StMartinsPress
July 31, 2025
From Yeshua to the Federal Reserve, this book covers a lot of territory. Paul Vigna does so in a way that felt more storyteller than history professor, explaining the significant connections as he goes. (Nothing wrong with history prof! Storyteller just works better for my brain.)
That money and religion evolved together is fascinating to me and I’d never looked at it like this before! And I’ll never view money the same again, which I suspect is Vigna’s goal. Well done, sir!
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Rob Reider and it is excellent!
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for an audiobook ARC of this book! This is my honest review.
That money and religion evolved together is fascinating to me and I’d never looked at it like this before! And I’ll never view money the same again, which I suspect is Vigna’s goal. Well done, sir!
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Rob Reider and it is excellent!
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for an audiobook ARC of this book! This is my honest review.
September 12, 2025
This was a really interesting analysis of the development of greed over time. He looks at prominent people throughout history, such as the Medicis, to explain how avarice went from being a sin to being “beneficial greed.” We still see it today - people like Bill Gates get praised for this very avarice we see today, because they are viewed as philanthropic. I don’t know that I fully am on board with the utopia (I guess that’s why it’s a utopia) because he advocates for a debt jubilee which seems rather impossible, but overall the message is that we need to implement the golden rule again and stop letting banks and the greedy rule the political and economic system. Interesting read!
October 6, 2025
The subtitle says it all. Economics is religion. This is an entertaining romp through the history of money and how religion became bound up with greed early on. I have some quibbles with the chapter on solutions (and the assertion that we have "unlimited resources"), but these are small compared with what I learned and the chance to see this information laid out the way that Vigna has done it. Should be required reading in...yeah, I know. That will never happen. It's up to us to educate ourselves.
September 24, 2025
Well-researched and easy to read. I agree with most of the points made by the author and like some of his ideas. I'm not quite sure on some, though.... Overall, an interesting, thought provoking read.
November 27, 2025
This book is really timely and relevant! Appreciate all the nuanced insights from history & morality. It is a deep exploration of how the role of money has evolved in our society, and perhaps where we steered it wrong in that evolution. A MUST READ (even if you have differing opinions)!
August 19, 2025
interesting thesis. the history was good! a look at currency from the inception of civilization using lenses like religion, politics, and culture. I enjoyed it
November 18, 2025
Highly recommend for anyone who is also confused about how we came to worship money in our current day and age. Insightful and digestible approach with valuable sources and ideas I am still thinking about weeks later. Time to read it again!
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