Taking Brexit To The Bank

Private polls and a timely concession from the face of Leave allowed hedge funds to make millions off the collapse of the pound.

- Cam Simpson, Gavin Finch, and Kit Chellel

At 10 P.M. on June 23, 2016, Sky News Projected the words “IN OR OUT” across the top of a London building as an orchestral score ratcheted up the tension. “In or out—it is too late to change your mind,” declared Adam Boulton, the veteran anchor, seated in a makeshift studio across from Big Ben. “The polls have closed in the U.K.’s historic referendum on EU membership.” Election nights are major productions for British broadcasters, but Brexit was bigger, with Sky viewers watching worldwide.

After the dramatic intro, Boulton jumped straight in with an exclusive, announcing that he had “breaking news.” Nigel Farage, the global face of the Brexit campaign, had given Sky what sounded like a concession. His photo and a statement filled the screen, as Sky’s political editor, Faisal Islam, read Farage’s words aloud: “It’s been an extraordinary referendum campaign, turnout looks to be exceptionally high and [it] looks like Remain will edge it. UKIP and I are going nowhere, and the party will only continue to grow stronger in the future.”