John Perkins (born January 28, 1945) is an Americanauthor. His best known book isConfessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004), in which Perkins describes playing a role in a process of economiccolonization ofThird World countries on behalf of what he portrays as acabal ofcorporations,banks, and theUnited States government. The book's claims were contested by some involved parties. The book spent more than 70 weeks on theNew York Times bestseller list.^[1]

John Perkins
Perkins in November 2009
Born	(1945-01-28)January 28, 1945 (age 80) Hanover,New Hampshire, United States
Alma mater	Boston University(B.S.)
Notable works	Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004)
Children	1
Signature
Website
johnperkins.org

Perkins has also written about mystical aspects ofindigenous cultures, includingshamanism.

Perkins graduated from theTilton School in 1963. He subsequently attendedMiddlebury College for two years before dropping out. He later earned aBachelor of Science degree inbusiness administration fromBoston University in 1968. He was aPeace Corps Volunteer inEcuador from 1968 to 1970. He spent the 1970s working for theBoston strategic-consulting firmChas. T. Main; he claims to have been screened for this job by theNational Security Agency (NSA) and subsequently hired by Einar Greve,^[2] a member of the firm (alleged by Perkins to have been acting as an NSA liaison, a claim that Greve has denied). Perkins claims that he was seduced and trained as an "economic hitman" by a mysterious businesswoman named Claudine, who used his NSA personality profile to manipulate and control him.^[3]

As chief economist at Chas. T. Main, Perkins claims to have advised theWorld Bank,United Nations,IMF,U.S. Treasury Department,Fortune 500 corporations, and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Perkins alleges that he worked directly with heads of state and CEOs of major companies.^[4] Perkins's time at Chas T. Main provides the basis for his subsequent claims that, as an "economic hit man", he was charged with inducing developing countries to borrow large amounts of money, designated to pay for questionable infrastructure investments, but ultimately with a view to making the debt-laden countries more dependent, economically and politically, upon the West.^[4]

In the 1980s, Perkins left Main and founded and directed an independent energy company. Perkins implies inNew Confessions of an Economic Hitman, published in 2016, that he was poisoned in 2005 on behalf of the NSA or CIA. Doctors diagnosed him withdiverticulosis.^[3]

Sebastian Mallaby, economics columnist of theWashington Post, reacted sharply to Perkins' book:^[5] describing him as "a conspiracy theorist, a vainglorious peddler of nonsense, and yet his book,Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is a runaway bestseller." Mallaby, a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations, holds that Perkins' conception of international finance is "largely a dream" and that his "basic contentions are flat wrong".^[5] As an example, Mallaby states thatIndonesia reduced itsinfant mortality andilliteracy rates by two-thirds after economists persuaded its leaders to borrow money in 1970.^[5]

Articles in theNew York Times^[6] andBoston magazine^[7] have referred to a lack of documentary or testimonial evidence to corroborate the claim that the NSA was involved in his hiring by Chas T. Main. After an extensive investigation, theNew York Times concluded that "the arc of Mr. Perkins's career seems to be described accurately", although they did not find evidence to support "some of his fancier claims," including those involving the NSA.^[6]

Chas. T. Main's former vice president Einar Greve, who first offered Perkins a job at the firm,^[4]: 10 agreed that foreign debt represented a poor economic strategy for developing nations:^[8]

Basically his story is true.… What John's book says is, there was a conspiracy to put all these countries on the hook, and that happened. Whether or not it was some sinister plot or not is up to interpretation, but many of these countries are still over the barrel and have never been able to repay the loans.

However, Greve denied many aspects of Perkins' claims, such as the NSA having any links to Main, or that Perkins was seduced by Claudine Martin, saying that he believes that Perkins has convinced himself that his story is accurate.^[7]BostonMagazine noted that Perkins can provide little documentation to support his claims of international intrigue, describing a largely unconvincing "flimsy package of materials."^[7] A number of Perkins' former colleagues disagreed with his perspective on the company and contradicted specific claims he made; Frank Fullerton, one of his supervisors, stated that Perkins left Chas T. Main because he "thought he was worth more than he was".^[7]

In a 2006 statement, the AmericanState Department stated that much of the book "appears to be a total fabrication ... the National Security Agency is acryptological (codemaking and codebreaking) organization, not an economic organization ... Neither of [its] missions involves anything remotely resembling placing economists at private companies in order to increase the debt of foreign countries."^[9]

• Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Your Life and the World (2020), Berrett-Koehler Publishers;ISBN 1523089865,978-1523089864.
• The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman (2016), Berrett-Koehler Publishers;ISBN 9781626566743.
• Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded – and What We Need to Do to Remake Them (2009),Crown Business;ISBN 0-307-58992-7
• The Secret History of the American Empire (2007),Plume;ISBN 0-525-95015-X
• A Game as Old as Empire: the Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption (edited by Steven Hiatt, introduction by John Perkins) (2007), Berrett-Koehler;ISBN 9781576753958
• Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004), Berrett-Koehler;ISBN 9781576753019

Perkins's books on mystical aspects of indigenous cultures, including shamanism, include:

• Spirit of theShuar: Wisdom from the Last Unconquered People of the Amazon (2001), co-authors Shakaim Mariano Shakai Ijisam Chumpi, Shakaim Mariano Ijisam Chumpi,Destiny Books,ISBN 0-89281-865-4
• Psychonavigation: Techniques for Travel Beyond Time (2nd 1999), Destiny Books,ISBN 0-89281-800-X
• Shapeshifting: Shamanic Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation (1997), Destiny Books,ISBN 0-89281-663-5
• The World Is As You Dream It: Teachings from the Amazon and Andes (1994), Destiny Books,ISBN 0-89281-459-4
• The Stress Free Habit: Powerful Techniques for Health and Longevity from the Andes, Yucatan, and the Far East (1989), Healing Arts Books,ISBN 978-0892812929

• Official website
• John Perkins atIMDb