Brian Wesbury, Nationally Renowned U.S. Economic Forecaster, Joins The Heartland Institute as Senior Fellow

Published June 15, 2005

CHICAGO, IL June 15, 2005 — Brian Wesbury, former chief economist of the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress (JEC), has joined The Heartland Institute as its Senior Fellow for federal budgets, trade, taxes, and monetary policy.

Wesbury is currently chief investment strategist for Claymore Advisors, LLC in Lisle, Illinois. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “Chicago’s most prominent New Era Economist.”

Wesbury advised members of Congress on economic issues during 1995 and 1996 when he served as chief economist of the JEC, which was chaired at the time by U.S. Senator Connie Mack (Florida).

Wesbury wrote his first book in 1999, The New Era of Wealth: How Investors Can Profit from the 5 Economic Trends Shaping the Future. The Wall Street Journal ranked Wesbury the nation’s number one U.S. economic forecaster in 2001 and USA Today ranked him a top 10 forecaster in 2004.

Wesbury serves on the Academic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and is an adjunct professor of economics at Wheaton College. He is also a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal‘s editorial page, serves as the economics editor for The American Spectator magazine, and is regularly featured on CNBC and Bloomberg TV.

Wesbury’s academic background includes an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Montana.

“This appointment formalizes a relationship between Heartland and Brian Wesbury that reaches back nearly 20 years,” said Joseph Bast, president and CEO of The Heartland Institute. “Brian Wesbury is one of the nation’s most prominent and respected spokesmen for free markets and limited government.”

The Heartland Institute is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan research organization based in Chicago. Founded in 1984, Heartland specializes in finding market-based solutions to a wide range of social and economic problems, including health care policies, education issues, and antitrust law. Its principal audiences are the nation’s 8,300 elected state and national officials and 8,400 city and county officials.

Heartland is supported by approximately 1,500 donors and members. For more information, call Ralph Conner, Public Affairs Director, 312/377-4000, or email him at [email protected].