Olga Boltenko-Kroon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Boltenko Law, a premier boutique private client legal practice based in Zurich, Switzerland. With nearly 30 years of experience, Olga is a dually qualified English solicitor and Russian tax expert, specializing in sophisticated wealth planning for global families.
Read on to find out which five books Olga recommends, and why…
"For this selection, I have chosen five books that explore the realities of our modern world. These works explain the logic behind both luxury yachts and bomb shelters, the inner workings of international sanctions, and the requirements for corporate success in the 21st century. The list also examines the steady erosion of privacy and the rise of modern espionage.
Ultimately, these books offer a necessary perspective on how individuals can navigate increasingly complex legal and political systems. I hope you find these insights as engaging and thought-provoking as I did."
Most of us were raised on the “Friedman doctrine”—the idea that a company’s only job is to turn a profit. Kay argues that this is an intellectual relic of the industrial age. He makes a compelling case that the most resilient modern organizations aren’t those chasing quarterly extractions, but those focused on long-term institutional health. It’s a necessary rethink of what a company actually is.
This is a psychological study of Russia’s “deep cover” sleeper agents. While it reads like a thriller, Walker’s real point is about the futility of it all. He explores how an authoritarian regime consumes its own citizens to sustain a nostalgic, imperial myth. It’s a brilliant study of how identity is weaponized in service of geopolitical fantasy.
We often assume privacy is a natural right, but Jenkins argues it’s actually a delicate, modern anomaly. She tracks the history of the “private self” and warns that our current obsession with transparency and digital surveillance is dismantling the very boundaries we need for individual autonomy. It’s a vital read for anyone concerned with the erosion of the “right to be left alone.”
Osnos takes a look at the superyacht industry, but not for the luxury. He treats these ships as “mobile sovereignty”—essentially floating territories that allow the ultra-wealthy to opt out of national tax regimes and democratic accountability. It’s a sobering look at how the nation-state is increasingly viewed as a regulatory burden to be outmaneuvered.
Fishman, a former State Department official, explains how the pipes of globalization—the stuff that was supposed to bring us all together—have become the new theater of war. He focuses on “chokepoints” like the U.S. dollar clearing system. His warning is clear: over-relying on these financial weapons is forcing the rest of the world to build their own systems, which could eventually pull the global order apart.
