About John
New York Times Bestselling Author. International Speaker. Activist.
As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm, John Perkins advised the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. He worked directly with heads of state and CEOs of major companies.
John’s classic, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004) spent 73 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has been published in more than 35 languages. It was a groundbreaking exposé of the clandestine operations that created the current global crises. The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2016) brought the story of economic hit men and jackal assassins up to date at that time and chillingly home to the U.S. It went on to provide practical strategies for each of us to transform the failing global death economy into a regenerative life economy. The two books have sold more than 1.9 million copies.
In addition to economics, politics and global intrigue, John has also written books on indigenous cultures and what they can teach us about sustainability and transformation, including The World Is As You Dream It, Spirit of the Shuar, and The Stress-Free Habit.
John has lectured at Harvard, Oxford, and more than 50 other universities around the world. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, NPR, A&E, the History Channel, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Der Spiegel, and many other publications, as well as in numerous documentaries including The End of Poverty?, Zeitgeist Addendum, and Apology of an Economic Hit Man.
He is a founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, nonprofit organizations devoted to establishing a world that future generations will want to inherit. He was awarded the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace, and Rainforest Action Network Challenging Business As Usual Award, among other accolades.
Sample Endorsements
Reading ‘The Secret History of the American Empire” is like finding the key that unlocks a mystery. It simultaneously confirms your suspicions and inspires you to hope. I wouldn’t say it’s good news, but it’s important news…. about where America’s gone wrong, and what it will take for us to make things right.
– Marianne Williamson Author, speaker, spiritual leader
John Perkins’s books have helped me better understand something that has been puzzling me for a long time: Why have so many resource-rich countries in the developing world remained steadfastly poor? The answers he gives are both complex and uncomfortable, and none of us in the first world can abrogate responsibility easily.
– Sting
Once again, John Perkins takes us on an extraordinary voyage that includes not only issues that shake the world, but transform ourselves in the process.
-Thom Hartmann, America's #1 Progressive Talk Show Host, author, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight
Perkins is an amazing writer, storyteller and adventurer who has written a really great read, another provocative bestseller.
-Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, Founder, Blue Spirit Costa Rica and Omega Institute
John’s life story is an important lesson for those embedded in the malfunctioning mainstream economy. John empowers us to shift the economic hit man/growth metrics into those that focus on a Life Economy.
-Hazel Henderson, author Building A Win-Win-World and Paradigms in Progress, CEO, B-Corp Ethical Markets Media, publishers of Green Transition Scoreboard
John is a brilliant storyteller. Touching the Jaguar chronicles one of the greatest and most fascinating true stories of our time. It will touch you, lift your spirit, engage you, and deepen your heart. It is magical, riveting, and true. John’s master work.
-Lynne Twist, Author, The Soul of Money, Cofounder, the Pachamama Alliance
A highly readable — and shocking — book. It’s difficult to accept that U.S. and corporate policies can be so brutal and greedy, but knowing John Perkins personally, I have come to understand the importance of disclosing this uncomfortable truth. Only by confronting the truth can we eventually create a world that works for all of us. John Perkins inspires us to get up and take action to create a more just and equitable world.
-Jack Canfield, author Chicken Soup for the Soul series
Touching the Jaguar is a heartfelt exploration into the powers to change ourselves, transform businesses, and renew society – powers Indigenous shamans have cultivated for millennia and we must embrace to dream the world in a new way.
-Alberto Villoldo PhD, Bestselling author, One Spirit Medicine and Shaman, Healer, Sage
John’s is a book that gives us hope. It’s secrets not only reveal the urgency of our global crisis but help us understand what we can do to create a sustainable, peaceful world.
– John Gray, author, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
A sweeping, bold assault on the tyranny of corporate globalization, full of drama and adventure, with devastating stories of greed run wild. But Perkins is undaunted, and offers imaginative ideas for a different world.
– Howard Zinn, Retired Boston University Professor author of many books, including A People’s History of the United States
How do we transform a destructive Death Economy into a sustainable Life Economy? What actions can you take to be your best you? These questions John answers in this powerful, fun-to-read, and groundbreaking book.
-Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times bestselling author, Happy for No Reason and Chicken Soup for the Women’s Soul