Simon Wilson
Simon Wilson’s first career was in book publishing, as an economics editor at Routledge, and as a publisher of non-fiction at Random House, specialising in popular business and management books. While there, he published Customers.com, a bestselling classic of the early days of e-commerce, and The Money or Your Life: Reuniting Work and Joy, an inspirational book that helped inspire its publisher towards a post-corporate, portfolio life.
Since 2001, he has been a writer for MoneyWeek, a financial copywriter, and a long-time contributing editor at The Week. Simon also works as an actor and corporate trainer; current and past clients include investment banks, the Bank of England, the UK government, several Magic Circle law firms and all of the Big Four accountancy firms. He has a degree in languages (German and Spanish) and social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Latest articles by Simon Wilson
-
Get set for another football financial record
Features The football season is almost over – which means eye-popping financial deals are about to get under way. But is the flood of money set to dry up? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Is the internet a danger to democracy?
Features Worries about the use of online data to target votes aren’t limited to the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. Critics say these tactics are being used around the world. Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Auditing the the big accountancy firms
Features Investors rely on the big accountancy firms to pore over a company’s books and warn them of impending disaster. But are they doing their jobs, asks Simon Wilson.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
A credit score that judges your politics
Features China is pioneering a system of social control that monitors your trustworthiness. India is a step away from something similar. Could "social credit" come to Britain too? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
The great restaurant crunch
Features Big high-street names in the casual-dining sector have closed their doors to customers. Seems they gorged themselves too much in the good times and are now having to fast, says Simon Wilson.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
GDP: we need a better measure of economic growth
Features Gross domestic product (GDP) is still the yardstick we most often turn to when we want to know how well an economy is doing. But a growing army of critics says it gives a false picture. Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
The city that ran out of water
Features Cape Town, South Africa’s second-biggest city, might soon have to turn off the taps. What went wrong? And is this a sign of things to come for other cities?
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Gove's green and pleasant Brexit
Features Michael Gove, one of Britain’s most divisive politicians wants to revolutionise agricultural and environmental policy after we leave the EU. But how much will really change? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
The power that runs the City
Features The City of London Corporation is the local authority for the Square Mile – but it does far more than take away the rubbish and mend roads. Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Deciphering the Russian enigma
Features Churchill famously thought Russia was a riddle – but his less famous solution to the riddle still holds. Russian foreign policy is based on self-interest. Simon Wilson explains.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
The end of net neutrality
Features The US has scrapped rules that forced internet service providers to treat all data equally. That’s the end of the free internet, say campaigners. Are they right? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
A faint hope for Zimbabwe
Features Decades of Robert Mugabe’s ruinous policies have driven his country to economic disaster. But will his successor and former ally be any improvement? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
The return of capital controls
Features The potential for a Jeremy Corbyn-led government brings with it the prospect of growing state intervention in the country’s finances. Simon Wilson asks: should we be worried?
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Could turning a blind eye solve the Irish question?
Features With the Brexit bill agreed, the biggest barrier to trade talks is the desire to avoid a hard border in Ireland. Turning a blind eye to difficult issues might be an option, says Simon Wilson
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Britain’s productivity puzzle
Features Growth in output per worker is slowing globally, but the issue is acute in Britain, where low-paid and part-time work is on the rise. Why, and what can be done? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
The true price of paradise
Features The so-called Paradise Papers have highlighted the use of far-flung remnants of the British Empire as tax havens. The bargain tax rates are looking increasingly costly, says Simon Wilson.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
A shake-up of power in Saudi Arabia
Features The arrest of dozens of members of the Saudi elite marks the creation of a new ruling dynasty, but the promise of reform is overshadowed by the threat of war, says Simon Wilson.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Will China move on North Korea?
Features China’s President Xi has consolidated his power. His focus may now switch to the nuclear crisis.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Are public-sector workers badly paid?
Features Pay for public workers was frozen in the years following the financial crisis, leading to a perception that they are hard done by. Do they get a bad deal?
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Why Catalonia wants to go it alone
Features The Catalan president is on the verge of declaring independence from Spain following a disputed and bloody referendum last week. What happens next? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
America’s immigration woes
Features Donald Trump has scrapped rules protecting young illegal immigrants from deportation. Activists, business leaders and economists think he’s wrong. Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Will Brexit hurt our farmers?
Features Britain’s farmers voted for Brexit – yet many rely heavily on EU subsidies, migrant workers and exports to Europe. Are they facing catastrophe? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
Can central banks kick the QE habit?
Features Stimulating the economy through quantitative easing may have averted a slump after the financial crisis – but breaking our addiction to it could spook markets, says Simon Wilson.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features -
How bad is America’s opioid crisis?
Features Donald Trump says that an epidemic of opioid addiction in the US is a “national emergency”. How bad is the problem and what should be done? Simon Wilson reports.
By Simon Wilson Published
Features