Richard Thaler
Intellectuals & Academics

Richard Thaler Net Worth

Richard Thaler is an American economist who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2017. He is a professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and is considered one of the founding fathers of behavioral economics, a field which takes into account human frailties when determining decision-making. His attempts to include human psychology into economics were initially met with resistance, but he eventually became a global bestselling author with his book, 'Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness'. Despite his success in the field, Thaler was never particularly interested in math and wanted to study psychology instead. He considers himself “pretty good at math” when compared to average people, but still thinks he would fare below average in a group of economists.
Richard Thaler is a member of Intellectuals & Academics

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Nobel Prize Winner in Economics (2017)
Birth Day September 12, 1945
Birth Place East Orange, New Jersey, United States, United States
Age 78 YEARS OLD
Birth Sign Libra
Education Case Western Reserve University (BA) University of Rochester (MA, PhD)
Spouse(s) France Leclerc
Children 3
Awards Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2017)
Fields Behavioral finance
Institutions Graduate School of Management at the University of Rochester (1974–1978) Johnson School of Management at Cornell University (1978–1995) Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago (1995–present)
Thesis The Value of Saving a Life: A Market Estimate (1974)
Doctoral advisor Sherwin Rosen
Influences Daniel Kahneman Herbert A. Simon
Influenced George Loewenstein

💰 Net worth: $850,000 (2024)

Richard Thaler, the prominent economist and Nobel Prize winner in Economics (2017), is estimated to have a net worth of $850,000 in 2024. Born in the United States, Thaler has made significant contributions to the field of behavioral economics, which has revolutionized the understanding of human decision-making and its implications in finance and markets. Throughout his career, Thaler has been recognized for his innovative research, leading to numerous accolades and prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize. His net worth reflects both his financial success and his influential contributions to the economic landscape.

Biography/Timeline

1921

Thaler was born in East Orange, New Jersey. His mother, Roslyn (Melnikoff, 1921–2008), was a Teacher, and later a real estate agent while his father, Alan Maurice Thaler (1917–2004), was an actuary at the Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey, and was born in Toronto. He grew up with two younger brothers. His great-great grandfather, Selig Thaler (1831–1903) was from Berezhany, Ukraine. He is married to France Leclerc, a former marketing professor at the University of Chicago and avid Photographer. He has three children from his first marriage.

1967

He graduated from Newark Academy, before going on to receive his Bachelor of Arts in 1967 from Case Western Reserve University, and his master's in 1970 and doctorate in 1974 from the University of Rochester, writing his thesis on "The Value of Saving A Life: A Market Estimate" under the supervision of Sherwin Rosen.

1977

Between 1977 and 1978, Thaler spent a year at Stanford University collaborating and researching with Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who provided him with the theoretical framework to fit many of the economic anomalies that he had identified, such as the "endowment effect".

1978

From 1978 to 1995, he was a faculty member at the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University .

1987

Thaler gained some attention in the field of mainstream economics for publishing a regular column in the Journal of Economic Perspectives from 1987 to 1990 titled Anomalies, in which he documented individual instances of economic behavior that seemed to violate traditional microeconomic theory.

1991

Since 1991, Thaler is also the co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research Behavioral Economics Project.

1999

Thaler also is the founder of an asset management firm, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, which believes that Investors will capitalize on cognitive biases such as the endowment effect, loss aversion and status quo bias. Since 1999, he has been the Principal of the said firm, which he co-founded in 1993. Russell Fuller, in charge of the firm's daily operations, said Thaler has changed the economics profession in that: "He doesn't write papers that are full of math. He writes papers that are full of Common sense."

2008

Paul Krugman, the 2008 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, tweeted "Yes! Behavorial econ is the best thing to happen to the field in generations, and Thaler showed the way." However, Thaler's selection was not met with universal acclaim; Robert Shiller (one of the 2013 laureates) noted that some economists still view Thaler's incorporation of a psychological perspective within an economics framework as a dubious proposition. And, an article in The Economist simultaneously praised Thaler and his fellow behavioral colleagues while bemoaning the practical difficulties that have resulted from causing "economists as a whole to back away a bit from grand theorising, and to focus more on empirical work and specific policy questions."

2014

Thaler has written a number of books intended for a lay reader on the subject of behavioral economics, including Quasi-rational Economics and The Winner's Curse, the latter of which contains many of his Anomalies columns revised and adapted for a popular audience. One of his recurring themes is that market-based approaches are incomplete: he is quoted as saying, "conventional economics assumes that people are highly-rational—super-rational—and unemotional. They can calculate like a computer and have no self-control problems."

2015

Thaler made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2015 movie The Big Short, which was about the credit and housing bubble collapse that led to the 2008 global financial crisis. During one of the film's expository scenes he helped pop star Selena Gomez explain the 'hot hand fallacy,' in which people think that whatever is happening now will continue to happen into the Future.

2017

Immediately following the announcement of the 2017 prize, Professor Peter Gärdenfors, Member of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee, said in an interview that Thaler had "made economics more human".

Some Richard Thaler images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.