Paul Zane Pilzer is an American economist, New York Times bestselling author, and social entrepreneur whose groundbreaking theories have reshaped how the world thinks about wealth creation and wellness. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1954, he earned a BA from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business by age 22, then rose to vice president at Citibank before serving as an economic advisor in the Reagan administration throughout the 1980s.
Pilzer is best known for developing "Economic Alchemy," a revolutionary framework that challenges traditional scarcity-based economic models. His landmark book Unlimited Wealth (1990) introduced the thesis that technology exponentially multiplies the value of physical resources — meaning prosperity is not a finite pie to be divided, but an unlimited opportunity to be created. This philosophy, encapsulated in his equation Wealth = Physical Resources × Technology, earned him recognition as one of the most original economic thinkers of his generation and established his reputation as a sought-after speaker and advisor for Nightingale-Conant audiences hungry for transformative financial thinking.
His follow-up bestseller The Wellness Revolution (2002) predicted the rise of the trillion-dollar wellness industry years before it became mainstream, coining the term and mapping the entrepreneurial opportunities within preventive health, nutrition, and personal care. A serial entrepreneur himself, Pilzer founded six companies, including Extend Health — acquired by Towers Watson for $435 million in 2012 — and pioneered the concept of employer-funded individual health insurance through Zane Benefits (now PeopleKeep). He has been called the "father of Health Savings Accounts" and has authored 13 books, with his ideas featured in over 100 publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has also served as an adjunct professor at New York University, bringing his blend of economic theory and entrepreneurial vision to the next generation of business leaders.
