Liaquat Ahamed
Liaquat Ahamed is a prominent investment manager and finance executive who gained significant recognition for his historical analysis of economic crises through his acclaimed book, "Lords of Finance," which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2010. Born in Kenya and raised in India, Ahamed's academic journey in economics began at Rugby School in England, followed by degrees from Trinity College Cambridge and Harvard University. His career commenced on Wall Street as a bond trader, later transitioning to senior roles at the World Bank and Fischer Francis Trees and Watts, where he demonstrated his expertise in financial management.
Ahamed's "Lords of Finance" provides a critical examination of the actions taken by leading central bankers after World War I and during the Great Depression, drawing parallels to responses during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The book has been praised for its detailed narrative, although some critics argue it places too much emphasis on the accountability of the financial leaders involved. Beyond writing, Ahamed has contributed to major publications and has been involved with influential institutions like the Brookings Institution. His work continues to resonate in discussions around economic policy and crisis management.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Liaquat Ahamed
Investment banker
- Born: 1952
- Place of Birth: Kenya
Contribution: Liaquat Ahamed is an investment manager, finance executive, and hedge fund adviser whose first book, The Lords of Finance, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2010.
Background
Liaquat Ahamed is a native of Kenya but spent most of his childhood living in India. He attended the prestigious Rugby School, a boarding school in Warwickshire, England. Ahamed developed an interest in writing at a young age. He attended Trinity College at Cambridge University, where he studied the economic factors behind World War I and the Vietnam War, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics. Thereafter, Ahamed enrolled in graduate school at Harvard University, earning a master’s degree in economics. While in his late twenties, he spent a summer working at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC.
Ahamed began his postgraduate career as a bond trader on Wall Street, and later moved to the World Bank, where he headed the organization’s investment division. During his early career, he also held a number of senior leadership positions, including the post of chief executive officer for the investment firm Fischer Francis Trees and Watts.
In 1999, Ahamed was inspired by an issue of Time featuring a cover story on Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. The magazine reported how the three financial leaders had implemented policy measures to protect the American economy and the larger global economy from incurring too severe an impact from episodes of regional crises. Ahmed saw parallels between this group of men and the financial leaders who coalesced to rebuild the global economy at the end of World War I and after the Great Depression.
Career
Ahmed’s first book, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, was published in 2009. The book is a historical account of post–World War I and Depression-era economic conditions and the policies enacted to improve them. Lords of Finance focuses on the leaders of the world’s four main central banks, a group dubbed “The Most Exclusive Club in the World.” It included US Federal Reserve chairman Benjamin Strong, Bank of England leader Montagu Norman, Banque de France head Émile Moreau, and German Reichsbank leader Hjalmar Schacht. At the time of its publication, Ahamed’s account of how these four financial leaders worked to lead the world out of financial turmoil resonated with readers and critics alike. Financial leaders and government officials worldwide were contending with impact of the global financial crisis of 2007–8. In the United States, consumers and banks were reeling in the aftermath of the collapse of the housing market. In Europe, debt levels in Greece, Portugal, and Cyprus began to threaten the financial cohesion of the European Union, while austerity measures enacted to rein in spending were met with widespread antigovernment demonstrations.
Lords of Finance was well received by critics, who commended Ahamed’s writing style and attention to detail. Some critics, however, disagreed with Ahamed’s focus on the culpability of financial leaders in the worsening of global economic conditions during the latter 1920s. The policies offered by Strong, Norman, Moreau, and Schacht—according to both Ahamed and other experts—served to exacerbate economic decline. According to some critics, however, Ahamed’s narrative gives greater gravity to the actions of these men without sufficient attention to some of the other factors that contributed to the Depression.
Nonetheless, Lords of Finance was received as both an important historical account and as a story with significant parallels to the global economic conditions of the early twenty-first century. The book was widely heralded as providing new insights into the nature of global economic crises. Lords of Finance was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in the history category in 2010.
Ahamed’s expertise in the finance industry and his in-depth knowledge of economic history has helped him achieve great success in business. Having served as the managing director and chief investment officer of Fischer Francis Trees and Watts, a global investment management firm, he has also worked as a director of IdeaGlobal, a market intelligence-consulting firm, and as an adviser to several hedge fund groups, such as the Rock Creek Group. In 2014, he published a book designed to increase the transparency of the IMF titled Money and Tough Love: On Tour with the IMF.
Additionally, Ahamed has been a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and other media. He has served as a Member of the Board of Trustees at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, a leading research and policy analysis organization. Ahamed also helped launch a film production company, Red Wine Productions, which released the film The Situation in 2006.
Impact
Ahamed’s Lords of Finance is viewed as an important resource in understanding in global financial crises of 2008. Although the conditions that created the Great Depression and the 2008 recession differed in many ways, Ahamed’s book presents an overview of successful policy intervention by government as well as the private sector.
Personal Life
Liaquat Ahamed met his wife, freelance writer Meenakshi (“Meena”) Ahamed, in Washington, DC, while he was working at the IMF and she was working at the World Bank. Their daughter, Tara Ahamed Tucker, married actor Jonathan Tucker in 2012.
Bibliography
"Liaquat Ahamed." Charwell Speakers, www.chartwellspeakers.com/speaker/liaquat-ahamed/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
“Liaquat Ahamed.” The Pulitzer Prizes. Pulitzer.org, 2010, www.pulitzer.org/winners/liaquat-ahamed. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
Maslin, Janet. “A Monetary Horror Story That Looks Like Today’s.” New York Times. New York Times Co., 14 Jan. 2009. Web. 3 July 2013.
Ninan, T. N. “Lunch with BS: Liaquat Ahamed.” Business Standard. Ananda Publishers, 19 May 2009. Web. 4 July 2013.
Nocera, Joe. “Flying Blind.” New York Times. New York Times Co. 13 Feb. 2009. Web. 3 July 2013.
Ullekh, N. P. “India, China Should Wish the Rest of the World Also Grows.” Economic Times. Times Group, 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 3 July 2013.