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Richard Werner

Basic Information​

  • Role: Professor of Economics, University of Winchester
  • Nationality: German
  • Education: PhD Economics, Oxford University; Graduate, London School of Economics
  • Languages: German, English, Japanese (fluent); French, Latin (partial)
  • Age: Born 1969 (55 years old as of 2025)
  • Location: United Kingdom (formerly resided in Japan for 12+ years)

Professional Background​

  • Current Position: Professor of Economics, University of Winchester
  • Previous Positions:
    • Professor at University of Southampton
    • Visiting researcher at Bank of Japan
    • First foreign Shimomura Fellow at Development Bank of Japan
    • Chief Economist at Jardine Fleming Securities (Tokyo)
    • Consultant at various investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Swiss Bank Corporation

Revolutionary Economic Discoveries​

The Banking System Exposed​

Empirical Proof of Money Creation:

"I was the first to do an empirical test of the three theories of banking... Banks create money out of nothing."

Werner conducted the world's first empirical study proving that banks don't lend existing money but create new money when they make loans. This overturned 200+ years of economic theory.

The Three Scenarios of Credit Creation:

  1. Asset Purchases (Destructive): Creates bubbles and banking crises
  2. Consumption (Inflationary): Increases prices without increasing goods
  3. Productive Investment (Beneficial): Drives genuine economic growth without inflation

Quantitative Easing Inventor​

Original QE Proposal (1995): Werner invented quantitative easing and published the concept in Japanese financial press, proposing three types:

  • QE1: Central bank buys non-performing assets from banks
  • QE2: Central bank buys performing assets from non-banks
  • QE3: Treasury borrows directly from banks (Treasury QE)

Later Appropriation: Ben Bernanke implemented Werner's QE1 during 2008 crisis without crediting the original inventor.

Key Academic Works​

"Princes of the Yen" (2001)​

  • Impact: #1 bestseller in Japan, beating Harry Potter
  • Content: Exposed how Bank of Japan deliberately created 1980s asset bubble to destroy Japan's economic success at U.S. behest
  • Suppression: Systematically blocked from U.S. publication; led to CIA surveillance

Peer-Reviewed Research​

  • "Can Banks Individually Create Money Out of Nothing?" - Most downloaded paper in journal history
  • "How Do Banks Create Money and Why Can Other Firms Not Do the Same?" - Explains the legal framework enabling bank money creation
  • Interest Rate Studies: Proved the relationship between interest rates and growth is opposite of central bank claims

Key Perspectives & Discoveries​

On Banking and Democracy​

The Connection:

"The fewer sources of bank credit you have, the more centralized your society is, the more control there is in a smaller number of hands, the less democratic your country is."

Small Banks = Democracy: Small, local banks fund small businesses (65-70% of employment), while big banks only serve big corporations. Bank concentration directly correlates with authoritarian control.

On Economic Growth​

The Physics Reality:

"Ask a physicist... what is economic growth? And they'll say, well, I don't know it in physics there is no growth... it's a statistical illusion created by statisticians."

GDP was created by bankers before the Bank of England's founding to assess debt servicing capacity, not measure real prosperity.

On Central Banking Manipulation​

Deliberate Bubble Creation: Proved the Bank of Japan intentionally created the 1980s bubble to destroy Japan's successful economic model under U.S. pressure. Similar patterns evident in Asian Crisis and 2008 financial crisis.

Interest Rate Myth: Empirically demonstrated that the foundational claim of central banking - that low rates create growth and high rates slow growth - has zero evidence and is actually reversed in reality.

Historical Revelations​

The Warburg Brothers Scandal​

Exposed that Max Warburg (German Reichsbank) and Paul Warburg (Federal Reserve founder) - brothers - ran enemy central banks during WWI while soldiers died in trenches.

Central Banking Origins​

War Funding Purpose:

"In the very act of parliament the law founding it [Bank of England] it says... the purpose is to make war."

Central banks were created to fund wars, with income taxes introduced as collateral for the private bank lending to governments.

The Greenspan Encounter​

Personal meeting with Alan Greenspan revealed Fed chairs know the truth about credit creation but are forbidden from discussing it once they join the Federal Reserve.

Systematic Suppression​

CIA Intimidation​

Direct Threat (2001):

"When we met, the main message was, you know, the CIA is watching you. That was the message."

After "Princes of the Yen" became #1 bestseller, Werner received direct CIA warning and complete U.S. publisher blackout.

Academic Censorship​

200-Year Deception:

"Macroeconomics has been a failure for 200 years... There's no banks in economic models and theories."

Banking deliberately excluded from economic education despite being the most important economic force.

Media Suppression​

Experienced systematic cancellation of TV shows, magazine articles, and speaking engagements through banking industry pressure chains.

China Economic Miracle Analysis​

Deng Xiaoping's Discovery​

Learning from Japan:

"He said I have come... to seek the elixir of high economic growth... they told him... it's all about banking."

The Transformation: China moved from one central bank to 5,000 local banks, enabling 40 years of double-digit growth and lifting more people from poverty than ever in history.

Mathematical Advantage: 5 million loan officers making localized decisions versus 5 central planners - explaining China's economic miracle.

Current Warnings​

CBDC Threat​

Ultimate Control Mechanism:

"It's not really money. It's potential money. You have to apply. May I please use it to buy XYZ?"

Central Bank Digital Currencies represent the endgame of financial authoritarianism - programmable money requiring permission for every transaction.

Banking Concentration Crisis​

The Federal Reserve destroyed 10,000+ banks, concentrating power and undermining democracy. Current policy continues this destructive trend.

Communication Style​

Teaching Philosophy​

Accessible Explanation:

"There's no such thing as a silly question... pretend you know nothing about economics because you must ask very simple questions."

Excellent at explaining complex economic concepts in understandable terms, avoiding academic jargon.

Evidence-Based Approach​

Empirical Focus:

"Let's forget about all this ideological stuff... Why don't we focus on what delivers growth and prosperity?"

Emphasizes data and empirical testing over theoretical models, following Deng Xiaoping's "seek truth from facts" methodology.

The Solution Framework​

Decentralized Banking​

The Path Forward:

"Every country in the world can have high sustainable equitable economic growth without crisis and without inflation."

Requirements:

  1. Many small, local banks funding small businesses
  2. Credit creation focused on productive investment, not asset speculation
  3. State banking alternatives to break Federal Reserve monopoly
  4. Democratic control over money creation

Historical Proof​

Germany's "hidden champions" (thousands of market-leading small firms) resulted from decentralized banking system - now being destroyed by ECB pressure.

Personal Characteristics​

Intellectual Courage​

Willing to challenge the most fundamental assumptions of economics despite career risks and personal threats.

International Perspective​

12+ years in Japan provided unique insights into alternative economic models and cultural approaches to truth-telling.

Academic Integrity​

Maintains rigorous empirical standards while addressing politically explosive topics.

Historical Thinking​

Connects current economic patterns to historical banking manipulation spanning centuries.

Current Focus Areas​

Research Priorities​

  • Banking structure and democratic governance
  • Central bank digital currency threats
  • Local banking development
  • Monetary policy empirical analysis

Policy Advocacy​

  • Local First: Founded organization promoting community banking
  • State banking initiatives (North Dakota model)
  • Opposition to banking consolidation
  • CBDC resistance

Media and Education​

  • Substack: rwerner.substack.com (monthly economic analysis)
  • YouTube: Werner Economics channel
  • Book publishing through quantumpublishers.com
  • Academic papers (open access)

Relationship Dynamics​

With Establishment Economics​

Academic Ostracism: Marginalized by mainstream economics profession for challenging foundational assumptions.

With Alternative Media​

Truth-Teller Alliance: Respected by independent journalists and researchers who prioritize empirical truth over institutional narratives.

With Banking Industry​

Institutional Opposition: Systematically opposed by central banking establishment due to explosive revelations about their true nature and purpose.

With Students and Public​

Educational Mission: Dedicated to spreading economic literacy and exposing banking system deceptions to enable democratic reform.

Assessment and Significance​

Richard Werner represents perhaps the most important economist of the modern era - not for advancing abstract theory, but for exposing the fundamental deceptions underlying the global financial system. His empirical proof that banks create money out of nothing, combined with historical evidence of deliberate economic manipulation, overturns centuries of economic orthodoxy.

His systematic suppression - from CIA intimidation to academic exclusion to media censorship - proves the explosive nature of his revelations. The fact that he invented quantitative easing but was denied credit demonstrates how the establishment appropriates useful innovations while silencing inconvenient truths.

Werner's Ultimate Contribution: Providing both the diagnosis (banking system as control mechanism) and the cure (decentralized, productive banking) for humanity's economic problems. His work offers a roadmap from financial feudalism to genuine prosperity.

Historical Importance: Like Galileo challenging geocentric astronomy, Werner challenges bank-centric economics. His empirical approach and moral courage make him a pivotal figure in the transition from deceptive to truthful economic understanding.

Future Relevance: As central banks push toward CBDCs and total financial control, Werner's warnings about banking concentration and his decentralized banking solutions become increasingly critical for preserving human freedom and democratic governance.