Nouriel Roubini

Nouriel Roubini was born in Istanbul, raised in Italy and Iran, and received his doctorate from Harvard University. He taught at Yale before joining New York University's Stern School of Business. He worked at the US Treasury and the White House's Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration and at the International Monetary Fund. In 2006, at an IMF conference, Roubini delivered a presentation predicting that the United States housing market was headed for collapse, that mortgage defaults would spread, that financial institutions holding mortgage-backed securities would face catastrophic losses, and that the result would be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression — a scenario his audience largely dismissed as wildly pessimistic. The 2008 financial crisis validated his thesis almost precisely, earning him the title "Dr. Doom" and transforming him into the world's most prominent macro risk analyst. He founded Roubini Macro Associates to provide macro advisory services to financial institutions, corporations, and governments. He has been consistently bearish on global debt levels, asset valuations, and the long-term sustainability of fiat currency — publishing books including "MegaThreats" (2022) cataloguing the major structural risks to the global economy. His public profile and media presence make him one of the most recognized economists globally, though critics note that his consistently bearish orientation means some of his predictions have been too early or too pessimistic.