Eric Gustafson

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Eric Gustafson (born April 6, 1975) is a journalist at The Economist, where he has written on politics, economics, and current events in Britain, Europe, the Middle East, and America. He has been awarded the Robert Blair Award by the Kólbitar literary club at Oxford, the Brighton Reporting Prize, the Moorgate-Islington Legion Commendation, and in 2003 his reporting on the Pentagon earned him honorable mention at the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize ceremonies.

Gustafson is controversial in some circles for his approach to investigative reporting, entering organizations and establishing close relationships with people, then later revealing corruption, illegality, and scandal. His September 2002 article on CEO Michael Griffith's dual bookkeeping at Selfridges department store led to Griffith's arrest and conviction for fraud.

Gustafson was born in Princeton, Minnesota, and grew up on a farm. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1997 and Master of Arts from the Diplomatic Academy of London in 2002. He worked in marketing and speechwriting in Minneapolis, working briefly for Governor Jesse Ventura, before starting his journalism career at the Winona Post in Winona, Minnesota. He began writing for The Economist in 2001.