Tom Burgis
Tom Burgis is an award-winning investigative journalist with the Financial Times, bestselling author and notable keynote speaker. He is the author of Kletopia, a book that chronicles the world of dirty money, with its complex web of criminals, money launderers, and politicians who enable it. He is also the author of The Looting Machine, which provides perspective on the exploitation of Africa. Previously, he was the West Africa correspondent for the Financial Times, based in Lagos, Nigeria, and was the newspaper's Johannesburg correspondent. Prior to joining the Financial Times, he was a freelance writer and spent a year in South America, focusing mostly on Chile's attempt to bring Augusto Pinochet to justice. Throughout his career, Tom has exposed several significant corruption scandals, covered terrorist attacks, coups and forgotten conflicts and traced dirty money across the world. He has interviewed with the richest woman in Africa and the boss of the Moscow mafia, and produced the most comprehensive report on Tommy Mair, the reclusive neo-Nazi who murdered a British MP days before the Brexit referendum.
Tom Burgis Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Investigative Journalist
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Correspondent, West Africa & Johannesburg
Academic History
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B.A., English Language & Literature
Tom is a long-standing member of the Financial Times' investigations team.
He has exposed major corruption scandals, covered terrorist attacks, coups and forgotten conflicts.
He traced dirty money from the Kremlin to Washington.
PRAISE FOR TOM & HIS BOOKS
Tom has won numerous awards in the United States and Asia.
He has been shortlisted seven times at the British Press Awards, British Journalism Awards, and the European Press Prize.
The Looting Machine won the Overseas Press Club of America's award for the year's best book on international affairs.
The New York Times also called The Looting Machine as a "brave, defiant book".
Kleptopia was named an Economist book of the year and a notable book of the year by the Washington Post.
MEDIA & APPEARANCES
His work has been featured in international media outlets.
He has made appearances on the BBC Newsnight, MSNBC, NPR, CNN and Sky, among others.
He has given talks at the Oxford Onion, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
He has also appeared in the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and Chatham House in London.