At The Money: Paul Vigna Explains "What is Money?"

Masters in Business

Bloomberg

Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing

4.4 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Money. It's a driving factor in our lives. But how often have you thought about those little green pieces of paper in your wallet and the idea that created it, or the digital zeros and ones in our banks and brokerage accounts that represent your money? Is it real, or simply a collective delusion?

Paul Vigna is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and has been a journalist for more than 25 years, as a reporter, editor, and photographer. He currently covers the cryptocurrency sector, including bitcoin, other digital currencies, and blockchain-related technologies. He is the author of “The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin.”

Each week, “At the Money” discusses an important topic in money management. From portfolio construction to taxes and cutting down on fees, join Barry Ritholtz to learn the best ways to put your money to work.

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1:22.6	It's a driving factor in our lives. But how often have you thought about those little green pieces of paper in your wallet and the
1:28.7	idea that created it? Or the digital zeros and ones in our banks and brokerage accounts
1:34.5	that represent your money. Is it real or is money simply a collective delusion?
1:42.4	I'm Barry Rittaltz, and on today's edition of At the Money,
1:45.8	we're going to chat about the concept of what exactly money is. To help us unpack all of this
1:52.5	and what it means to you, let's bring in Paul Vinya of the Wall Street Journal. He's published
1:57.6	numerous books on money, crypto. His latest book, The Almightyer, How Money Became God, Greed became Virtue, and Debt Became
2:07.8	Sin.
2:08.5	It's out July 2025.
2:11.0	So, Paul, let's start with the basics.
2:14.5	You define money as a belief system.
2:21.2	Explain what that means. Sure. Briefly, so, I mean,
	...

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