The 27-Year-Old Economic Adviser for Gen Z
Sure, she has hundreds of thousands of social-media followers, but she isn’t trying to sell them anything, except maybe a book about the economy she published earlier this year. She’s happy with the title “author,” though that only covers part of what she does. “Economic commentator” is what San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly recommended, so that’s what Scanlon has been calling herself.
“Whatever makes sense to people, I suppose, but my goal is economics education,” Scanlon said in an interview. “Social media is just the medium that I use to do that.”
Scanlon, 27 years old, is breaking all the rules for a career in finance and doing things her own way. Forget grinding away for years on Wall Street or getting a Ph.D. in economics. Young people pay attention to her analysis of topics ranging from monetary policy to the housing market to the business of dating apps, all delivered via TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, Substack and her podcast.
