Andreas Cervenka is one of Sweden’s most acclaimed and award-winning business writers. His book, Greedy Sweden, tells the story of how socialist Sweden became a paradise for the ultra-wealthy. An instant bestseller, it became one of the most talked about books in 2022 and was nominated for the August Prize.

Andreas has worked at several of Sweden’s largest publications, such as Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Nyheter and Dagens Industri. He has won the Financial Journalist of the Year four times, the Guldspaden Award for best investigative reporting and the prestigious Grand Prize of Journalism three times.

Andreas Cervenka has been hailed for his unique ability to explain complex economic events to a wide audience, and his books have been widely praised by critics. His first book, What Is Money?, was adapted to the stage and premiered at Sweden’s national theatre in 2015 to widespread critical praise.

His latest book, The Bubble, was published in 2024 and investigates the global housing bubble.

Agents: Moa Alfvén & Erik Larsson

Published Albert Bonniers Förlag, November 2024
Genre Popular economics / business & finance
Pages 220

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Finland – Gummerus

How the hunger for real estate broke the world

Access to housing is one of the most important prerequisites for both economic growth and individual quality of life. Yet housing supply never seems to match demand, and every decade household debt rises to new record levels, just so we can have somewhere to live.

The profits, not least for those who lend the money, are enormous. But there are also risks, both for the individual and for society. How did this happen? How could one of our most basic needs, a roof over our heads, turn into a financial bomb belt strapped to the body of society?

In The Bubble, the educational and, frankly, terrifying sequel to the best-selling Greedy Sweden, Andreas Cervenka examines in his unmistakable and entertaining way an economy that stands on increasingly brittle foundations.

Reviews

“The educator Cervenka writes simply and pedagogically, with a combination of rich gallows humour and a smouldering anger over the state of affairs that readers of his Aftonbladet columns will recognize.”
- Aftonbladet

“The imagery sometimes hits the mark perfectly. In the book's final lines, it is said […] that the Swedish social contract has been "sliced into small lottery tickets distributed among the population," referring to those fortunate enough to have already established themselves in the housing market or are next in line to inherit their way in. I underline this several times; “this is a good image” goes the note in the margin.”
- Svenska Dagbladet

Publisher’s statement

“Books on the economy are rarely described as page-turners or binge-worthy. The books by Andreas Cervenka are the exception, equally entertaining and illuminating, they leave you craving for more. This new project is a comprehensive take on the looming global crisis of real estate, property, and housing, where mounting individual debt and institutional greed are the harbingers of a storm to come. Cervenka will not only explain the fundamentals that point to the dangers ahead, he will also make you laugh as we walk towards the precipice.”
– Daniel Sandström, Literary Director & Publisher at Albert Bonniers Förlag

Published Natur & Kultur, 2022
Genre Non-fiction
Pages 254

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Finnish: Gummerus

Sweden has long been famous for being one of the world’s most socially equal countries. But this self-image, and the image Sweden has been extremely successful in projecting abroad, of a social democratic haven hasn’t been true for a long time.

The gap between the ultra-wealthy and the rest of the population has grown immensely, very fast. The proportion of the economy owned by the richest 0.1 percent is higher than in the USA, and Sweden has more dollar-billionaires than Japan and Brazil. Sweden is a country where the tax on labour is among the highest in the world, but where taxes on assets are considerably lower than in many other countries. It is a country that, in 2022, is suffering from an overheated housing market, stock market and crypto market – all at the same time. Where the hunt for easy money has become a social movement.

In 1996, there were 28 billionaires in Sweden. Today, there are 542. Together, they have become 30 times richer in 25 years. Meanwhile, the proportion of Swedish households with a low economic standard is the highest it’s ever been.

In his new book, Andreas Cervenka tells the story of Sweden’s unbelievable journey from a high-tax country to a billionaires’ paradise. In Greedy Sweden, Andreas Cervenka, with his characteristic sense of humour, guides the reader towards an attempt at answering the question: What has happened to Sweden?

Awards & nominations

GREEDY SWEDEN

August Prize – Nominated for Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2022

Swedish Grand Prize for Journalism – Winner of Voice of the Year 2022

Adlibris Prize – Nominated for Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2022

Reviews

"Greedy Sweden is a book you fold dozens of dog-ears in, a book you want to recommend to everyone you meet… Andreas Cervenka has achieved a public education feat that ought to shake the Swedish social debate to its core…”
– Expressen

"Cervenka delivers the foundation document for a Swedish revolution.”
– Aftonbladet