The true story of the most contentious
debt default in history

A book by

Gregory Makoff

Foreword by

Lee C. Buchheit

Release date: February 1, 2024
Available for Preorder Now!

The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina’s $100 Billion Debt Restructuring

In December 2001, Argentina defaulted on almost $100 billion of debt. Default follows the twists and turns of the epic fifteen-year legal and political saga that ensued. The drama culminated in February 2012 when New York federal judge Thomas P. Griesa imposed an extraordinary injunction on Argentina that gave its holdout creditors the upper hand. The world of sovereign debt would never be the same.

Advance Praise

“Gregory Makoff...takes us into the negotiating rooms, the backrooms, the courtrooms, and the settlement rooms where this fifteen-year struggle agonizingly unfolded.”
— Lee Buchheit, from the Foreword
“The fight between Argentina and its bondholders is one of the most significant episodes in the history of sovereign debt litigation, and Gregory Makoff has written the definitive treatment.”
— W. Mark C. Weidemaier, Ralph M. Stockton, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill
“While there is a substantial legal literature on Judge Thomas P. Griesa’s 2012 decision to impose the pari passu injunction on Argentina, Gregory Makoff’s Default is the first book that fully explains why he did it.”
— Annamaria Viterbo, Professor of International Law, University of Turin (Italy)

About the Author

Gregory Makoff, a physicist by training, worked as a banker for twenty-one years. As a banker, he advised companies, financial institutions, and countries, including Jamaica, Colombia, the Philippines, and Turkey, regarding their debt. He has worked as a senior policy adviser at the US Treasury and is a senior fellow (nonresident) at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a think tank based in Waterloo, Ontario. He holds a PhD in physics from the University of Chicago (1993) and a BSc in physics and political science from MIT (1986) and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Contact the Author: info@defaultthebook.com