House of Fidelity

The gripping, definitive account of the secretive family behind one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world. When Edward C. Johnson II founded Fidelity in 1946, investing was a pursuit reserved for the elite. Today, nearly $13 trillion flows through Fidelity’s customer accounts and investment funds—touching the lives of one in every six Americans. With little fanfare, Fidelity helped invent modern retail investing: democratizing access to mutual funds, introducing the 401(k), and upending the need for traditional brokers. But behind the scenes of this financial juggernaut is a family saga unlike any other. In House of Fidelity, veteran journalist Justin Baer tells the definitive story of the Johnsons—a New England dynasty that fiercely guarded control of their company while reshaping Wall Street. From the founder’s bold leap into Boston’s insular investing circles, to the meteoric rise of Peter Lynch, to behind-closed-doors battles over succession and legacy, Baer reveals a company and a family locked in a delicate balance of innovation, influence, and internal power struggles. At once a riveting business narrative and an intimate portrait of ambition, secrecy, and control, House of Fidelity is a sweeping history of American investing—and the dynasty that came to define it.