Talent Inquiry

Jordan Goodman has spent the past 33 years focused on one mission: to help Americans do better with their money. In a career spanning newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, live events, teleseminars, and the Internet, he has helped millions of people to solve their financial problems and realize their financial dreams. An honors graduate of Amherst College, Jordan had just received his masters degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1977 when he launched an award-winning, consumer-oriented newspaper insert, INFO, which reached 4 million readers every week. That early foray into consumer journalism soon led to an 18-year stint at MONEY, the foremost personal-finance magazine in the U.S., where Jordan reported and wrote on every aspect of personal finance. During his tenure at MONEY, he also became a regular presence on radio and television programs around the country. When Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel of the “Today Show” wanted to refute some of the more dubious strategies of financial guru Charles Givens in 1986, it was Jordan they asked to face down Givens. When Ted Koppel needed a financial expert to explain to “Nightline” viewers the implications of the stock-market crash of October 19, 1987, it was Jordan to whom he turned. While at MONEY, Jordan also began to write the first of his 13 highly acclaimed books on personal finance. The Barron’s Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms (1984), which Jordan co-authored with John Downes, has been translated into Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese, and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Now entering its eighth edition, it is considered a classic in its field and a staple on the syllabi of college personal-finance and business courses, MBA classes, and securities training seminars. In the 26 years since the dictionary was first released, Jordan has also written: Barron’s Finance and Investment Handbook (1986, co-authored with Downes) that provides a comprehensive analysis of every form of investment, plus a multitude of important investment resources. (The eighth edition is due out in late 2010.) Everyone’s Money Book (Dearborn, 1993, 1998 and 2001) a 970-page comprehensive financial reference that included over 6,000 resources and sold over 250,000 copies. The Everyone’s Money Book Series (Dearborn, 2003) (including six separate volumes on Credit; Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds; Real Estate; College Financing; Retirement Planning; and Financial Planning) Reading Between the Lies: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Wall Street’s Next Scandal (Dearborn, 2004) aimed to educate consumers shaken by Enron-era debacles. Master Your Money Type (Warner Business Books, 2006) about the different psychological styles with which people relate to their finances, and how to minimize their weaknesses and maximize their strengths to build financial well-being. Fast Profits in Hard Times (Grand Central Publishing, 2008) that anticipated the current financial downturn and provides readers with investment strategies that allow them to make money even in a down market. Master Your Debt (John Wiley 2010) which explains the many changes in the world of debt and offers specific resources to help readers pay off their mortgages in 5-7 years instead of 30 years, get control of their credit card debt, student loans and al other kinds of debt. It’s been 13 years since Jordan, in such demand as a keynote speaker, author, and guest expert on radio and television, left MONEY to focus on independent projects. Once or more each week, he appears as a commentator on major TV news networks such as CNN, CBS, ABC, Fox News Network and Fox Business Network. During frequent trips around the country, he is a guest on local and regional radio and TV stations as well as a keynote speaker for such diverse audiences as the military, corporate employees, college students, and trade association members. He also participates in non-profit personal-finance-literacy programs such as those sponsored by the Jump$tart Coalition and delivers a weekly hour-long educational teleseminar for members of Financial Destination Inc. And virtually every day, often several times a day, from a microphone on the desk in his home office, he speaks to millions of listeners through his regular guest appearances on countless radio shows. These include such prominent programs as “Sunday Morning Magazine” on KMOX that reaches numerous Midwestern states (and on which he has appeared for 25 years); “The Ray Lucia Show” on 100 stations (15 years); “Janet Parshall’s America” on the national Salem Broadcasting Network (15 years); and Gary Goldberg’s “Money Matters,” on 10 stations in New York and Connecticut (15 years). Along the way, Jordan also has reached vast national audiences as a weekly commentator on CNN’s “Business Day” for 3 years; on Public Radio International’s “Marketplace Morning Report” weekly for 6 years; on the Mutual Broadcasting System’s “America in the Morning” daily for 8 years; and as a guest expert on NBC-TV’s “News at Sunrise” weekly for 9 years. The son of a father who was a political-science professor for 32 years at the Ivy League’s Brown University, and a mother who was a dedicated community-service leader in Providence, Rhode Island, Jordan early on melded his father’s focus on world events with his mother’s emphasis on serving others. His parents’ formative influences, combined with his firsthand experience of a traumatic family financial crisis when he was a teenager, in large measure explain both the career path he has pursued with such passion and the reasons why he is today widely known as “America’s Money Answers Man.” In all he does — in his books, his media appearances, his live speeches, his teleseminars, and even in the hundreds of email replies he crafts each month in response to listeners who write to ask for his advice, Jordan: teaches the underlying principles of responsible personal finance. makes clear the impact of current events on the consumer’s wallet. provides outstanding resources that can help the consumer to take the next smart step.