Nicholas Shaxson

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Nicholas Shaxson
Nicholas Shaxson at Dark Havens, Disruption Network Lab, 2019-04-06 (CC Maria Silvano).jpg
Nicholas Shaxson at the Disruption Network Lab in 2019
Born1966 (age 5758)
Malawi
OccupationAuthor
NationalityBritish
Notable worksPoisoned Wells, Treasure Islands , The Finance Curse

Nicholas Shaxson (born 1966) is a British author, journalist and investigator. [1] [2] He is best known for his investigative books Poisoned Wells (2007), Treasure Islands (2011), and The Finance Curse (2018). [3] [4] He has worked as a part-time writer and researcher for the Tax Justice Network, an expert-led lobbying group focused on the harmful impacts of tax avoidance, tax competition and tax havens. [5] [6] In 2021, he co-founded the Balanced Economy Project, an anti-monopoly organisation. [7]

Contents

Biography

Shaxson was born in Malawi and educated in Britain. He has lived at various times in India, Brazil, England, Lesotho, Spain, Angola, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Since 1993, he has written on global business and politics for Vanity Fair , [8] the Financial Times , Reuters, The Economist and its sister publication the Economist Intelligence Unit , [9] International Affairs , Foreign Affairs , [10] American Interest , [11] the BBC, Africa Confidential , African Energy and others. [1] [5]

Shaxson first began working for the Tax Justice Network in 2006. His first book was Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil. [12] His 2011 Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World was called a "fascinating, chilling book" by Paul Krugman and an "utterly superb book" by Jeffrey Sachs. It one of the first in depth investigations into the world of offshore finance and financial secrecy and came five years before the Panama Papers. [13] [14] His 2018 The Finance Curse: How global finance is making us all poorer was called "a splendid polemic against modern finance... hard-hitting, well written and informative" by Martin Wolf.

In 2021, he co-founded the Balanced Economy Project: "an international organisation dedicated to protecting democracy and tackling excessive concentrations of economic and financial power". [15] The new organisation was inspired by Shaxson's desire to create an anti-monopoly movement outside the United States inspired by the New Brandeis movement.

Shaxson currently lives with his partner and their two children in Berlin. [16]

Awards and honours

See also

Bibliography

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References

  1. 1 2 "Nicholas Shaxson". gresham.ac.uk.
  2. "Results for 'nicholas shaxson' [WorldCat.org]". worldcat.org.
  3. "Nicholas Shaxson".
  4. "Nicholas Shaxson". The Guardian.
  5. 1 2 The Author: Nicholas Shaxson, treasureislands.org, 19 November 2010
  6. Shaxson, Nicholas, The truth about tax havens, The Guardian , 8 January 2011
  7. "Balanced Economy Project". Balanced Economy Project. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  8. Shaxson, Nicholas (August 2016). "The Great Trump Tax Mysteries: Is He Hiding Loopholes, Errors, or Something MoreE Serious?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. "The notion that the City needs to shrink is gathering momentum". The Economist. 11 October 2018.
  10. "Nicholas Shaxson". 13 February 2018.
  11. Shaxson, Nicholas (19 March 2014). "The Much-Too-Special Relationship".
  12. N, Shaxson (3 July 2008). Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil (Reprint ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-0-230-60532-9.
  13. "Nicholas Shaxson to lead new anti-monopoly organisation". Tax Justice Network. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  14. Shaxson, Nicholas (2011). Treasure Islands. UK: Vintage. ISBN   9780099541721.
  15. "Balanced Economy Project". Balanced Economy Project. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  16. How to Write About Tax Havens and the Super-Rich: An Interview with Nicholas Shaxson, blog.longreads.com, 12 February 2014
  17. Alison Flood (6 March 2012). "New prize for radical writing announces shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2012.