The first historically documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed by Egyptologists to the 3rd Dynasty pharaoh Djoser. Although Egyptologists often credit his vizier Imhotep as its architect, the dynastic Egyptians themselves, contemporaneously or in numerous later dynastic writings about the character, did not credit him with either designing Djoser's pyramid or the invention of stone architecture. [15] The Pyramid of Djoser was first built as a square mastaba-like structure, which as a rule were known to otherwise be rectangular, and was expanded several times by way of a series of accretion layers, to produce the stepped pyramid structure we see today. [16] Egyptologists believe this design served as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens. [17] See also: Inside Jason Miller’s plan to turn the Big Lie into a big business – and a second term for Trump] IT WAS THE era of the dotcom boom – even farmers in remote Bundaberg had taken notice. Tech or internet businesses were all the rage. If you wanted to earn a fortune, the tech scene was where you needed to be. Lex wanted in on it and moved to Sydney’s richer pastures. I became deeply concerned that Greensill was connected to the break-in. The thief had stolen my bag containing something a source had handed to me earlier that afternoon. Someone must have followed me, I reasoned. They must have been looking to intimidate me or to uncover my sources, I thought. Maybe I was paranoid. Maybe I was wrong. But dealing with Greensill left me thinking anything was possible. I was left, yet again, shaking my head about how greed makes fools of many and millionaires (if only for a while) out of some.

Pyramid of Lies The Essential Podcast, Episode 67: Pyramid of Lies

The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis, although at least one step-pyramid-like structure has been found at Saqqara, dating to the First Dynasty: Mastaba 3808, which has been attributed to the reign of Pharaoh Anedjib, with inscriptions, and other archaeological remains of the period, suggesting there may have been others. [6] The otherwise earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser built c.2630–2610 BCE during the Third Dynasty. [7] This pyramid and its surrounding complex are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry. [8] Boris Johnson has admitted for the first time that he attended a Downing Street party while the country was under strict Covid restrictions. Shortly afterwards, reports emerged that the politician was having an extramarital affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt. Mr Johnson initially dismissed the claims as an “inverted pyramid of piffle”, before more concrete evidence came to light. He won a High Court challenge in 2019 against a court summons that claimed he had misled the public. The UK Statistics Authority said Mr Johnson’s claims were “a clear misuse of official statistics” (Photo: PA) Talking Turkey And so suddenly, you see sort of vast amounts of assets pouring into these Credit Suisse funds. In truth, just to echo what I said a little bit earlier, in truth, it wasn't just supply chain finance assets. It was, in fact, kind of loans to risky businesses, some of them complex steel businesses run by Sanjeev Gupta. And so this is Credit Suisse's clients' money. Some of it's pension fund money, some of it's big sovereign wealth fund money. Some of it's money from individual private clients.A previously unknown pyramid was discovered in north Saqqara in late 2008. Believed to be the tomb of Teti's mother, it currently stands approximately 5m (16ft) high, although the original height was closer to 14m (46ft). In the centuries since, factoring became part of the supply chains that grew around the world, oiled by liquidity. As these operations became faster and more complex they needed not just factoring but reverse factoring, in which people sell their debt, rather than their credit, and each agent in the chain is paid straight away. The process became computerised, and modern global trade now runs on a silent river of digitised debt. While other alleged affairs have been attached to Mr Johnson’s name throughout his career, claims of an alleged fling with American tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri have attracted the most media attention. A very well written account of a very complicated business that can be understood by anybody. There are explanations for all technical matters so that you are never left in doubt as to what was really going on. Ritter, Michael (2003). "Dating the Pyramids". Archived from the original on 11 May 2008 . Retrieved 15 May 2008.

A Pyramid of Lies — FBI A Pyramid of Lies — FBI

A sad day for his family, their reputation and name. May he be held accountable for his actions through pure contempt and arrogance for those around him. The overall journey has been well covered and does focus a lot more on the personality of Lex Greensill and how multiple sophisticated companies could have this call through their controls.

“Most of these people were friends of his. They wouldn’t believe that someone close to them like that would be doing that.”

Lex Greensill had a simple, billion-dollar idea - democratising supply chain finance. Suppliers want to get their invoices paid as soon as possible. Companies want to hold off as long as they can. Greensill bridged the two, it's mundane, boring even, but he saw an opportunity to profit. However, margins are thin and Lex, ever the risk taker, made lucrative loans with other people's money: to a Russian cargo plane linked to Vladmir Putin, to former Special Forces who ran a private army, and crucially to companies that were fraudulent or had no revenue. DUNCAN MAVIN: Yes, that's right. So many of these supply chain finance assets, the biggest insurers in particular, the pension funds and so on, they can't invest in them because they're not investment grade. And so the way you make the investment grade is you take out trade credit insurance, and that makes them investable for a much broader group of investors. The trouble for Lex was a lot of the big trade credit insurers wouldn't work with him. They met him over the years, and they dealt with them over the years and found they didn't like the way we did business. NATHAN HUNT: There is no Greensill Capital without Lex Greensill. So who is this guy? Where did he come from? And what motivated him to get as far as he did? The Pyramid of Lies is not elegantly written. The breathless tone of some descriptions verges on comical: the Savoy, where Greensill holds a breakfast meeting, is “a 130-year-old art deco masterpiece, dubbed London’s 'most famous hotel’ and renowned as a favoured haunt of kings and presidents, Hollywood stars and fashionistas”. It is nonetheless worth reading as a meticulously researched and enjoyably lively account of this major financial scandal.