Paul Blustein is a distinguished author and economic journalist whose latest book, King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World’s Dominant Currency (Yale University Press, 2025), explores the history and uncertain future of the U.S. dollar as the linchpin of global finance. With his trademark clarity and investigative depth, Blustein examines how the dollar attained its preeminent role, the challenges it faces in an evolving world economy, and what its trajectory means for policymakers, markets, and citizens worldwide.
Over the course of his career, Blustein has written several critically acclaimed books on international finance, including Schism: China, America and the Fracturing of the Global Trading System, And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out), and The Chastening. His works have been widely praised in leading publications such as The Economist, Financial Times, The New York Review of Books, and Foreign Affairs for being “riveting,” “authoritative,” and “superbly reported.”
In addition to his books, Blustein’s recent articles have appeared in outlets including Fortune, Slate, Politico, Foreign Policy, and Bloomberg View. He has also held senior research affiliations at respected think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he continues to serve as a non-resident senior associate in the Economics Program.
Earlier in his career, Blustein spent decades reporting on economic and financial affairs for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, earning numerous honors including the Gerald Loeb Award, business journalism’s highest prize. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, he has dedicated more than 40 years to illuminating the forces shaping the global economy through both journalism and long-form narrative.
