The number in your bank account is a promise.
Robert Jeffrey saw from close by how promises are made, traded and broken. In this book he shows how money works and who earns from it.
The English edition
Someone Always Pays is the English edition of the Dutch book Iemand betaalt altijd. It is an adaptation of the Dutch text, with its own cover and its own ISBN.
The English edition is being written. Its publication date is still open.
The Dutch edition is available now, as a paperback and as an e-book for Kindle. The Dutch book page lists the shops that sell it.
Five questions from the book
- How does a bank create money? A bank creates money when it grants a loan, with an entry in its books.
- Is my money safe if my bank fails? Your balance is protected up to 100,000 euros in the European Union, 120,000 pounds in the United Kingdom and 250,000 dollars in the United States.
- What happened on 15 August 1971? On that Sunday evening President Nixon stopped the exchange of dollars for gold.
- Is there a petrodollar treaty? No. A treaty in which Saudi Arabia promised to sell oil only for dollars is nowhere to be found.
- Why does a bond fall when interest rates rise? A bond promises a fixed amount, and when new bonds pay more interest, that fixed promise is worth less.
The seven parts of the Dutch edition
- 1 The money in your account
- 2 How the money system came about
- 3 The dollar, interest and the state
- 4 What you really own
- 5 Who sets the rules
- 6 Who pays when it goes wrong
- 7 The coming years
The Dutch edition in numbers
- 30 × chapter, in seven parts
- 72 × sum, checked again at the back
- 474 × note with the source
- 145 × term with an explanation
- 10 × question for everything you hear about money
About the author
Robert Jeffrey has worked for more than thirty years as an entrepreneur and alongside entrepreneurs, in the Netherlands and far beyond its borders. He founded companies, led them and sold several of them.
For others he guided takeovers and restructurings, from family businesses to listed companies. He is the founder of Holdwise in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.
Details
- Title
- Someone Always Pays
- Subtitle
- How Money Works and Who Gets the Bill
- Author
- Robert Jeffrey
- Publisher
- Holdwise B.V.
- Language
- English
- Status
- In preparation
- Dutch
- Iemand betaalt altijd, first edition, November 2026, paperback of 288 pages, ISBN 9789090438610
Questions about the book
What is Someone Always Pays about?
It is about how money works. The book covers banks, debt, the dollar, interest, investing, pensions and tax. For every promise in the money system it shows who promises, who relies on it and who pays when the promise breaks.
Who wrote the book?
Robert Jeffrey, entrepreneur and founder of Holdwise in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. He has worked for more than thirty years as an entrepreneur and alongside entrepreneurs, in the Netherlands and far beyond its borders.
Is the English edition of Someone Always Pays available?
The English edition is in preparation. It is being written, and its publication date is still open. The Dutch edition, Iemand betaalt altijd, is available now.
Is Someone Always Pays a translation?
It is an adaptation of the Dutch text of Iemand betaalt altijd. The English edition gets its own cover and its own ISBN.
Where can I buy the Dutch edition?
The Dutch edition is a paperback of 288 pages with ISBN 9789090438610, and there is an e-book for Kindle. The Dutch book page lists the shops that sell it.
Is this book financial advice?
No. The book gives general information. It is no personal financial, tax or legal advice and no investment advice.
Last reviewed on 13 November 2026.
Someone always pays. After this book you know who.