Joshua D. Wright

Joshua D. Wright
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
In office
January 2013 – August 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJ. Thomas Rosch
Succeeded byRohit Chopra
Personal details
Born (1977-01-20) January 20, 1977 (age 47)[1]
San Diego, California, U.S.[1]
Political partyRepublican[1]
EducationUniversity of California, San Diego (BA)
University of California, Los Angeles (JD, PhD)
AwardsBator Award (2014)

Joshua Daniel Wright (born January 20, 1977) is an American economist, attorney, and former government official. Wright served as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2013 to 2015. At the time of his nomination, Wright was the fourth economist to serve as an FTC commissioner.[2] Wright was a professor of law at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School between 2004 and 2023, and was the executive director of its Global Antitrust Institute (GAI).[3][4] In 2023, Wright resigned from George Mason following eight allegations of sexual misconduct from former students.[5]

While on the FTC, Wright advocated a laissez-faire approach to antitrust enforcement.[6][7] After leaving the commission, the FTC inspector general found that Wright violated federal conflict of interest laws by representing Qualcomm and lobbying the FTC to drop a lawsuit it was pursuing against the company.[8][9] While working as a law professor, Wright led the Global Antitrust Institute, which received significant funding from companies including Google, Apple, and Meta Platforms.[10][11]The Wall Street Journal reported that Wright's clients ended their relationship with him in 2023 following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.[10]

As a scholar, Wright's work has focused on the fields of antitrust law, law and economics, and consumer protection. In 2013, Wright was described by the National Review to be "widely considered his generation's greatest mind on antitrust law."[12] He has published more than 100 articles and book chapters, co-authored a casebook, and edited several book volumes in these fields. Wright has served as co-editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review and senior editor of the Antitrust Law Journal,[13] and in 2014 received the Paul M. Bator Award.[14]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Wright Testimony was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Josh Wright to be nominated to be next FTC Commissioner". Truth on the Market. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  3. ^ "Joshua D. Wright". George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  4. ^ Public domain material from "Joshua D. Wright", a Federal Trade Commission webpage (accessed February 23, 2013).
  5. ^ Nylen, Leah; Bloomberg (28 August 2023). "High-powered attorney who become a top federal regulator 'preyed on' students and colleagues over nearly 2 decades, women allege". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2024-03-13. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. ^ Nylen, Leah; Bloomberg (28 August 2023). "High-powered attorney who become a top federal regulator 'preyed on' students and colleagues over nearly 2 decades, women allege". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2024-03-13. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Mullins, Brody (2024-06-06). "The Hidden Life of Google's Secret Weapon". MSN. The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  9. ^ Mullins, Brody (2024-06-06). "The Hidden Life of Google's Secret Weapon". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  10. ^ a b Mullins, Brody (2014-06-08). "For Years, an Esteemed Law Professor Seduced Students. Was He Too Important to Fire?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  11. ^ Wakabayashi, Daisuke (2020-07-24). "Big Tech Funds a Think Tank Pushing for Fewer Rules. For Big Tech". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-12. The emails illustrated how the institute's leaders, including Joshua Wright, who has longstanding ties to Google, have worked closely with tech companies to fend off antitrust criticism.
  12. ^ Foster, Daniel (23 May 2013). "Agent McConnell". National Review. Retrieved 8 July 2020. On the Federal Trade Commission, McConnell handed Obama the name of Josh Wright, a holder of both a Ph.D. in economics and a J.D. and widely considered his generation's greatest mind on antitrust law.
  13. ^ Public domain material from "Joshua D. Wright", a Federal Trade Commission webpage (accessed February 23, 2013).
  14. ^ "Federalist Society Presents 2014 Bator Award". The Federalist Society. Retrieved 9 July 2020.