Daniel Altman

Daniel Altman was born in Connecticut and studied economics at Harvard long enough to receive a doctorate. Rather than stay in the ivory tower, he became the London-based economics correspondent of The Economist. He next joined The New York Times as one of the youngest-ever members of its editorial board and later wrote economic commentary for the business section. He soon returned to London to become an economic advisor in the British government, dealing with crime, immigration, and illicit drugs. His next position was as the global economics columnist of the International Herald Tribune, with stints in Buenos Aires, Damascus, and Hong Kong.

In 2008, he left journalism definitively to write Outrageous Fortunes and become a practitioner in the field of international development. With four friends from graduate school, he founded North Yard Economics, a not-for-profit consulting firm serving governments and non-governmental organizations in developing countries. Upon his return to New York, he began teaching economics at New York University's Stern School of Business and became director of thought leadership at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a strategic consulting firm exclusively focused on raising living standards in developing countries and addressing global challenges. He lives in New York City.