Ruchir Sharma
Ruchir Sharma | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wellington, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, investment manager, columnist |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | Emerging markets investing, columns for Financial Times |
| Notable work | Breakout Nations (2012), The Rise and Fall of Nations (2016), Democracy on the Road (2019), The 10 Rules of Successful Nations (2020), What Went Wrong with Capitalism (2024) |
Ruchir Sharma is an Indian American writer, investment manager, and columnist for the Financial Times. He oversees the international operations at Rockefeller Capital Management and formerly worked as an emerging markets investor with Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Career
Sharma grew up in Mumbai, Delhi, and Singapore. After earning his bachelor's degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce in New Delhi, he began his career at a securities trading company and initiated the column For Ex in 1991 for The Observer, later contributing to The Economic Times of India. His published work attracted Morgan Stanley’s attention, leading to his hiring in Mumbai in 1996. He moved to New York in 2002 and was appointed co-head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s emerging markets division in 2003, taking full leadership by 2006. In 2016, he assumed the additional role of Chief Global Strategist at MSIM. Sharma announced his exit from Morgan Stanley effective January 31, 2022, to focus on investment ventures and writing.
Economic and financial market views
His debut book, Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles (Norton 2012), documented his journeys across emerging economies to identify future leaders and laggards. He described "breakout nations" as countries expected to outpace peers within their income bracket. The book achieved record nonfiction sales in India and gained international bestseller status.
In 2012, Foreign Policy recognized Sharma among its top 100 Global Thinkers for reshaping the dialogue on emerging markets by focusing on genuine breakout nations. His analyses have appeared in The Economic Times, Newsweek International, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, Time, Forbes, and The Bloomberg View. A 2017 Financial Times profile portrayed his approach as blending firsthand observations with clear economic reasoning.
Between 2016 and early 2021, Sharma contributed opinion articles on global economics and politics to the New York Times and currently serves as a contributing editor at the Financial Times.
In June 2016, W. W. Norton published The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World, which presented frameworks for identifying countries poised for growth or decline. A key concept was "impermanence," highlighting the challenge of maintaining rapid expansion and often drawing attention to underappreciated nations.
In a 2012 Foreign Affairs piece titled "Broken BRICs," Sharma contended that the widespread emerging market boom during the 2000s was exceptional and unlikely to repeat. He forecasted that many BRIC economies would find it difficult to maintain growth rates, reverting to historical norms where only a select few rapidly converge economically.
The United States
Sharma predicted that the United States would be favored throughout the 2020s due to its adaptable system relative to other developed countries. Important factors included quicker private debt reduction compared with Europe or Japan, a strong dollar, leadership in technological innovation, and reduced energy expenses driven by shale oil and gas production. These elements contributed to a resurgence in US manufacturing, positioning it as the "breakout nation of the developed world," contingent upon managing its growing government debt.
By 2020, Sharma observed a transformation in global economic cycles with emerging winners and losers. In his Foreign Affairs article "The Comeback Nation," he highlighted America’s increased share of global GDP alongside its financial market supremacy. Nevertheless, he warned against complacency and overoptimism due to escalating debt risks typical during prolonged expansions.
China
Sharma has consistently taken a measured view of China’s economic trajectory. From his first book onwards, he challenged both excessively optimistic and pessimistic projections by pointing out demographic aging, rising debt levels, and shifts within the middle class as limits on sustaining rapid growth.
In 2016, writing for the New York Times, he cautioned that China’s extraordinary debt accumulation could lead to recession or financial instability. Four years later, he noted that official growth figures had decelerated sharply to approximately 6%, hindered by structural challenges. Despite this slowdown, China avoided a major recession thanks to its thriving technology sector and internet giants—a domain now facing regulatory scrutiny that Sharma identified as simultaneously risky and paradoxical.
India
Sharma regarded India as having the strongest breakout potential among BRIC nations but assigned only a 50/50 likelihood of success, sparking debate within the country. He argued that India’s growth patterns tend to mirror global trends without consistently surpassing other emerging economies. Sustained commitment to reform is critical for achieving transformative growth.
He also highlighted India's vast diversity—exceeding that of the European Union—and advocated for a federal system empowering states with greater autonomy rather than concentrating authority in Delhi, contrasting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s centralizing policies.
In his 2019 book Democracy on the Road, Sharma recounted extensive travels across India during election seasons, concluding that India’s political environment remains fundamentally socialist and statist across major parties—factors shaping its economic policy direction and reform prospects.
Awards
- In 2012, Sharma was recognized by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the foremost global intellectuals.
- By June 2013, Outlook included Sharma in its list of The World's 25 Most Intelligent Indians.
- Breakout Nations launched as the top-selling book in India and secured Sharma the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award in 2012.
- The publication also featured on The Wall Street Journal hardcover business bestseller chart and was highlighted by Foreign Policy among its "21 Books to Read in 2012".
- In 2015, Bloomberg Markets honored Sharma as one of the 50 Most Influential individuals worldwide.
Personal life
Sharma was born in Wellington, located in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district, and received his education across Delhi, Bombay, and Singapore. He has resided in New York for nearly twenty years but continues to regard India as his homeland despite his extensive international travels.
His interests include politics, cinema, and sprinting. Since 1998, he has organized road trips with approximately 20 leading Indian journalists during general and state elections, facilitating in-depth interviews with prominent political figures.
Training six days weekly as a sprinter, Sharma represented India at the 2011 World Masters in Sacramento, competing in both the 100-meter dash and the 4 x 100-meter relay. He remains unmarried and lives in New York City.
Books written
- Breakout Nations (2012)
- The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in a Post-Crisis World (2016)
- Democracy on the Road (2019)
- The 10 Rules of Successful Nations (2020)
- What Went Wrong with Capitalism (2024) Simon & Schuster