Discover how demographics, technology, and globalization are reshaping the economy and our future
Pinpoint the signs of stock market rallies, and the warning signs of slumps
Identify the political pressures on trade, debt, and interest rates from the U.S. to the E.U. to China
Todd unlocks the 4 strategies that keep businesses prospering when they hit an unexpected crisis.
Ninety percent of the Fortune 500 list from 1955 are gone. What can you learn from the survivors?
Tap into Todd’s frontline experience as White House director of economic policy and managing director of the Tiger investment fund, to get your business growing now.
Learn how the “scissors economy” cuts costs while creating new opportunities
Explore the ways to build customer loyalty even when facing unforeseen competition
Find out which countries offer the best opportunities for investment and expansion
Todd Buchholz is an economist and award winning author who brings macroeconomics to life with storytelling and practical frameworks. He has served in government and in the private sector, and now advises leaders on how policy and market shifts affect corporate strategy, workforce planning, and capital allocation.
Todd’s presentations are known for being lucid, engaging, and actionable: he helps audiences see which signals matter and which to ignore. He works well for investor conferences, corporate retreats, and leadership offsites where economic clarity is needed to inform decisions. His style pairs historical perspective with modern examples and clear recommendations.
Todd Buchholz has been featured alongside such luminaries as Colin Powell, Michael Porter, and Jeff Bezos.
He has been invited to guide corporate and political leaders around the world, from the UK and New Zealand parliaments, to the Mexican and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges, to tech and entertainment firms in Seoul.
An internationally known consultant on global markets and winner of Harvard’s annual teaching prize, Buchholz advises the world’s leading companies and “lights up economics with a wickedly sparkling wit.” (Associated Press)
Todd Buchholz has been featured alongside such luminaries as Colin Powell, Michael Porter, and Jeff Bezos.
As a frequent commentator on the state of the markets, Todd Buchholz brings his experience as a former White House director of economic policy, a managing director of the $15 billion Tiger hedge fund, and a Harvard economics teacher to the cutting edge of economics, fiscal politics, finance, and business strategy. Buchholz is a frequent guest on ABC News, PBS, and CBS, and he recently hosted his own special on CNBC.
Before joining Tiger, Buchholz was President of the G7 Group, Inc, an international consulting firm whose clientele included many of the top securities firms, investment banks and money managers in New York, London, and Tokyo, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
His commentaries were closely read by officials at the Federal Reserve, Bundesbank and Bank of England. Buchholz won the Allyn Young Teaching Prize at Harvard and holds advanced degrees in economics and law from Cambridge and Harvard.
Todd Buchholz was a fellow at Cambridge University in 2009, holds several engineering and design patents and is a co-producer of the Broadway smash “Jersey Boys.”
Buchholz is the inventor of the Math Arrow, a mathematical matrix that makes numbers more intuitive to children. Martin Cooper, widely recognized as the inventor of the cellular phone, has called the Math Arrow “ingenious.”
Todd Buchholz has authored numerous critically acclaimed and best-selling books on the economy and leadership, many of which he has developed into successful lectures and speaking events.
His books have been translated into a dozen languages and are used in universities worldwide, including at NYU, Duke, and Princeton. Author Buchholz is praised for his examination of economics, business and entrepreneurship in the context of global society.
The Sunday TIMES (UK) called The Price of Prosperity: Why Rich Nations Fail and How to Renew Them “highly entertaining, far-sighted and enjoyably acerbic.”
The Wall Street Journal named the book to its exclusive list of “Eight Summer Must-Reads” for 2016. Market Shock: 9 Economic and Social Upheavals that Will Shake Our Financial Future, was released to rave reviews and dubbed “outstanding” by the Wall Street Journal.
Buchholz has also published the best-selling New Ideas from Dead Economists, New Ideas from Dead CEOs, From Here to Economy, and Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office, which garnered high praise from the New York Times and Financial Times.
Named by Publishers Weekly as a “top ten” book for 2011, his book Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race has been praised by the Financial Times, Toronto Globe & Mail, Los Angeles Times and the BBC, among many others.
Buchholz has penned articles for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes, and Reader’s Digest.
Todd Buchholz is widely sought for his depth of experience, sharp wit and honest, entertaining delivery. He puts global politics and financial markets into perspective and offers a positive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing today’s markets.
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Former White House economic policy director Todd Buchholz discusses the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve policy, and his book on why wealthy nations sometimes collapse.
In this interview, Todd Buchholz, former White House economic policy director and author of The Price of Prosperity, talks about the fragility of rich nations and the hidden risks behind America’s prosperity.
Key points include:
0:00 – Introduction: Todd Buchholz, The Price of Prosperity, why rich nations fail.
1:00 – Discussion of Janet Yellen, the Fed, and interest rate policy.
3:00 – Weak jobs report and auto sales as warning signs for consumer spending.
5:00 – Why wealthy nations collapse: lessons from fallen empires.
6:30 – Demographics: declining birth rates, aging populations, and economic strain.
8:00 – Cultural shift: kids vs. pets and the consequences for social programs.
9:30 – Worker-to-retiree ratios and the looming entitlement crisis.
11:00 – Politics: lack of serious reform proposals in campaigns.
12:00 – Optimism vs. pessimism: Buchholz’s view of America’s resilience.
13:00 – Conclusion and reflections on The Price of Prosperity.
Former White House economic advisor Todd Buchholz shares gritty, story-driven playbooks from “dead CEOs” to help founders and leaders win in turbulent times avoid commodity hell, embrace new rules, and make yourself obsolete before rivals do.
Todd Buchholz opens in Seoul with a lighthearted intro, then dives into what really tests leaders: not plans, but punches quoting Mike Tyson to frame how great CEOs respond to shocks. Rather than retell Elon Musk or Jobs, he rewinds to overlooked giants whose choices built durable prosperity.
He spotlights Amadeo Giannini, an immigrant fruit broker who founded the Bank of Italy (later Bank of America). After the 1906 San Francisco quake, when incumbent banks closed “for six months,” Giannini opened the next day on two barrels at the wharf, lending to rebuild the city. He extended hours for working people, hired multilingual staff, lent to women, and treated IP as collateral funding Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Golden Gate Bridge. Core lesson: keep asking who’s my customer, and how do I create more of them? Have the courage and ethics to act when others freeze.
Buchholz urges leaders to find the overlap gap: don’t only read what your profession reads, read what your customers read. First-mover isn’t destiny; best-mover is (Google, Starbucks, McDonald’s didn’t invent their categories). Make yourself obsolete before someone else does (iPod → iPhone; Kodak didn’t). Reserve time to think, not just meet.
He warns of the “scissors economy” tech snips out middlemen. When rules change, move first (like the 1906 legalization of the forward pass in American football; only St. Louis University exploited it and went 11–0). Avoid commodity hell if your product can’t be meaningfully differentiated, you lose pricing power. Break out via new markets, service, brand, and cost control (e.g., Starbucks elevated coffee into an experience).
00:00 – Warm intro & frame
Seoul opening, culture nod, and the Mike Tyson rule: plans vs. punches; what great CEOs actually do.
03:10 – Why study “dead CEOs”
We don’t need more Musk stories; we need durable, transferable playbooks.
04:05 – Amadeo Giannini: “Gladiator of Finance”
Immigrant roots, father’s death, fruit broker to banker for workers; founding the Bank of Italy.
07:15 – 1906 quake: opening on two barrels
Incumbents shut for six months; Giannini opens next day, fuels San Francisco’s rebuild.
09:30 – Customer obsession as operations
Extended hours, multilingual staff, early lending to women; financing the Golden Gate Bridge.
11:05 – IP as collateral
Funding Disney’s Snow White; rethinking collateral and risk.
12:10 – Ethics & scale
Bank of Italy → Bank of America; promise not to enrich personally; philanthropy first.
13:20 – CEO habits: convictions, facts, overlap gap
Read what clients read; seek overlap between your worldview and theirs.
15:00 – First mover vs. best mover
Google, Amazon, Starbucks, McDonald’s examples; pick better, not earlier.
A: Yes — tailored 30 to 45 minute briefings for leadership teams are common.
A: Yes — audience Q&A and live analysis of current data are typical
Key themes include economic policy, AI disruption, global crisis strategies, and prosperity dynamics.
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