Burton G. Malkiel

 (born August 28, 1932) is the Chemical Bank Chairman’s Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Professor Malkiel is an American economist. He is a leading proponent of the efficient market hypothesis. Malkiel is the author of the well-known book A Random Walk Down Wall Street. Originally published in 1977, the book has gone through many editions. Malkiel and his co-author, Charles Ellis also wrote another popular book on investing, The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor.

Early life and education
Burton Malkiel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 28, 1932. He attended the Boston Public Latin School (1949). His academic education began at Harvard College (1953), and Harvard Graduate School of Business (1955). After a three-year tour as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Finance Corps, he joined the investment firm of Smith, Barney & Co. as an investment banker. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1964.

Business career
Malkiel served as a trustee for the Vanguard Group Inc., and the Vanguard funds for 28 years, ending in 2005. Malkiel remains a director of Vanguard Group (Ireland) Ltd. In 2007 Malkiel, along with co-founder, Kevin Todd Carter, founded AlphaShares, LLC, a privately owned investment manager. The firm invests in the public equity markets of China. It also develops and manages a series of China indices. The company mainly serves corporations and high-income individuals. In February 2013, Malkiel was named Chief Investment Officer of investor advisor firm Wealthfront.

Papers
Malkiel has co-authored the following award-winning papers.