Gary Stevenson
Gary Walter Stevenson (born 1986) is a British YouTuber, author, and former Citibank trader who has become one of the United Kingdom's most prominent public advocates for wealth taxation and economic inequality awareness.[^c1] After growing up in a low-income household in Ilford, London, Stevenson studied economics and mathematics at the London School of Economics and became a financial trader at Citibank at age 21. He made millions betting that rising inequality would keep interest rates low, and claims to have been the bank's most profitable trader globally in 2011 — a claim disputed by former colleagues.[^c1][^c2]
After retiring from trading in 2014 at age 27, Stevenson completed an MPhil in economics at the University of Oxford and began campaigning against wealth inequality.[^c1] His central argument holds that wealth concentration is self-perpetuating: the wealthy save and invest rather than spend, suppressing consumer demand and driving up asset prices, which progressively transfers assets from the middle class to the rich. He advocates for a wealth tax targeting assets above £10 million.[^c3]
Stevenson launched the YouTube channel Garys Economics in 2020, which has grown to over 1.5 million subscribers.[^c1] His 2024 memoir, The Trading Game, became a Sunday Times number one bestseller and has been published in more than 20 languages.[^c4] In 2025, he received the Human Act Award for contributions to UN Sustainable Development Goals on poverty and inequality, and an honorary Doctor of Social Sciences from SOAS University of London.[^c4][^c5]
His rise has attracted substantial criticism: former colleagues have disputed his trading record, free-market economists have argued that wealth taxes harm economic growth, and commentators have questioned the rigour of his policy proposals. Stevenson has responded that his critics act in bad faith and that the establishment does not want the public to understand the true nature of economic inequality.[^c2][^c6]