The story of Anthony Ward is relatively known at this point–the British fund manager whose manipulation and domination of the world's cocoa bean market have earned him the nickname “Choc Finger.” It's his thirst for cash that can drive up or crash cocoa prices, which in turn drive up or bring down the cost of your Snickers or Cadbury.
But there has never been quite a profile like the one that appeared today in the German magazine, Der Spiegel.
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The German publication is one of the world's great publications, and even goes as far as translating its pieces for those of us who don't sprachen deutsch. Its piece on Ward takes us from a German chocolate factory to his offices for a rare press visit, the recent Ivory Coast civil war to London stock exchanges and the cacao farms of Ghana, all in an effort to marvel at Ward's craven manipulation of cocoa supplies to drive up prices. “Indeed, Ward behaved like someone who sees a long line in front of the
bakery on a Sunday morning and buys 400 rolls, only to resell them to
the people waiting outside at double the price,” reporters Hauke Goos and Ralf Hoppe wrote. If you read just one long-format story today, make it this one. And stock up on your Reese's products while you can.
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