‘Most parents would rather talk about a condom than a credit card’

Writing a 10,000-word children’s book about money was personal for Mellody Hobson. Even if she is now one of the most powerful women in finance, money was once something that made her feel powerless. She is the youngest of six children, brought up by a single mother in Chicago, and her childhood was marked by financial insecurity: the family was occasionally evicted and the lights would turn off when the electricity bill couldn’t be paid. Hobson credits her mother with giving her a…