Thomas Sowell is an American economist, economic historian, and social and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, known for his widely published commentary and books. As a frequent guest on TV and radio, he has become a prominent voice in the American conservative movement as a prominent black conservative.

Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1958 and earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University in 1959. He completed his PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968.

In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks, including the Urban Institute and, since 1977, he has been with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.

Sowell is a significant figure in the conservative movement, particularly during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration and was considered for posts like U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both opportunities.

He is the author of over 45 books on a variety of subjects, including politics, economics, education, and race, and has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are often described as conservative, especially on social issues, and libertarian on economic issues. Sowell has expressed that he may best be labeled as a libertarian, although he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on certain issues like national defense.

In 2002, Sowell received the National Humanities Medal for his exceptional work in incorporating history, economics, and political science.