Health Benefits Bio

Paul Zane Pilzer

Paul Zane Pilzer is an economist, social entrepreneur, professor, public servant, and author of nine best-selling books and dozens of scholarly publications.

He completed Lehigh University in three years and received his MBA from Wharton Business School in 15 months at age 22. He became Citibank’s youngest officer at age 22 and its youngest vice president at age 25. He was appointed an adjunct professor at New York University at age 24 where he taught for 21 years and was five times voted “best teacher.” He has started, and/or taken public, six companies in healthcare and K-12 education.

In healthcare, he is the Founder of Extend Health (1999) and Zane Benefits (2006), suppliers of personalized health benefits to U.S. employees. Extend Health was acquired by Towers Watson in 2012 for $435 million. Zane Benefits, a software company, is the leading U.S. provider of online defined contribution platforms to employers who allow their employees to choose their own health benefits. Zane Benefits was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (2007).

In education, he is the Founder of Zane Publishing (1989), The American Academy (2005), and Zane Prep (2011), three leading companies using technology to improve K-12 education worldwide.

In public service, he was an appointed economic advisor in two U.S. presidential administrations (1983-1989) and today advises CEOs and government officials worldwide. Pilzer’s book on government financial crisis, Other People’s Money (Simon & Schuster), was critically acclaimed by The New York Times and The Economist magazine.

Pilzer served as an appointed economic adviser in two presidential administrations and warned of the impending $200 billion savings and loan crisis years before official Washington was willing to listen-a story that he later shared in Other People’s Money (Simon & Schuster) which was critically acclaimed by The New York Times and The Economist magazine, and reviewed by John Kenneth Galbraith for The New York Review of Books.

Pilzer’s Unlimited Wealth (Crown) explains how we live in a world of unlimited physical resources because of rapidly advancing technology. After readingUnlimited Wealth, the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, said that he was “amazed at Pilzer’s business capacity” and his “ability to put it into layman’s terms.”

Pilzer’s God Wants You to be Rich: The Theology of Economics (Simon & Schuster) explains how the foundation of our economic system is based on our Judeo-Christian heritage-this New York Times business best-seller was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and on television shows ranging from 60 Minutes to First Person with Maria Shriver.

In The New Wellness Revolution (Wiley) Pilzer identifies the newly emerging wellness business-for this book he received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service and was called a “wellness guru” by The New York Times.  The New Wellness Revolution has been published in 25 language and in 2009 he addressed the Peoples Republic of China from the Center Podium of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The Next Millionaires (Momentum Media)explains why the number of U.S. millionaires doubled in the 1990s, how the economy is now creating one million millionaires a year from 2006-2016, and how ordinary people can become one of them.  He lectured on this book in Hong Kong and spoke on social entrepreneurship at University of Hong Kong in 2013.

The New Health Insurance Solution (Wiley)sets forth a bold new direction for U.S. health insurance and explains how individuals can now get affordable health insurance independent of their employer. This book also explains how employers can end their health insurance nightmare while still being able to hire great employees.

A former commentator on National Public Radio and CNN, Pilzer was profiled on the front page of The Wall St. Journal in 2007 and has appeared three times on the Larry King Live! television program. He speaks live each year to approximately 200,000 people, and more than 20 million audiotapes of his speeches have been sold. He lives in Utah with his wife and four children where they are all avid snowboarders, mountain bikers, and chess players.