Zachary Karabell

Zachary Karabell is an author and commentator and the founder of the Progress Network at New America. He is also president of River Twice Capital, Chairman of the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group, and the majority owner of Mine Hill Distillery, and he hosts the award-nominated podcast “What Could Go Right.” Previously, he was Head of Global Strategies at Envestnet, a financial services firm. Prior to that, he was President of Fred Alger & Company, portfolio manager of the China-U.S. Growth Fund and Chief Economist. He also ran the River Twice Fund, an alternative investment fund focused on sustainability.  

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Karabell discusses the interconnectedness of the world’s financial markets and how government policy affects American business. Audiences gain a clearer understanding of the trends shaping our businesses and lives in the years ahead, while challenging common assumptions about global change. 

Educated at Columbia, Oxford and Harvard, where he received his Ph.D., Karabell has taught at Harvard and Dartmouth and written widely on history, economics and international relations. His most recent book, Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power, was published by Penguin Press in May of 2021, and his book before that was The Leading Indicators: A Short History of the Numbers That Rule Our World. He is currently writing a global history of corn for Penguin Press. He is the author of eleven previous books, including Peace Be Upon You: The Story of Muslim, Christian and Jewish Coexistence and The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election. He sits on the board of New America, Heyday Books and PEN America. Once upon a time, in 2003, the World Economic Forum designated him a “Global Leader for Tomorrow.” 

As a commentator, Karabell writes “The Edgy Optimist” column on Substack, which previously ran on Slate, Reuters, and The Atlantic. He has been a columnist for Time and is a Contributing Editor for Politico. He was a frequent commentator on CNBC, Fox Business and MSNBC. He also contributes to such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs. 

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