Global leaders revisit Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations 250 years on
A major new publication marking the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations has been launched by the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI), in partnership with Royal London, bringing together leading voices to explore the future of markets, morality and prosperity.
Launched during the Edinburgh Finance Festival, The Wealth of Nations: Marking Two Hundred and Fifty Years examines how Smith’s ideas can help inform contemporary debates around trust, responsible investment, technological disruption, sustainability and long-term economic resilience.
The publication features 19 contributors from across finance, policy and academia and is structured around four themes: Smith Revisited, ESG at a Crossroads, Global Markets, Global Knowledge, and Reimagining the Purpose of Markets.
Contributors include Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda; economist and author Sir John Kay; Saker Nusseibeh CBE, Chief Executive of Federated Hermes Limited; Eva Cairns, Head of Responsible Investment at Scottish Widows; and Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Chairman of INCEIF University.
Dame Susan Rice, Chair of GEFI’s Global Steering Group, said:
“Two hundred and fifty years after the publication of The Wealth of Nations, many of the questions Adam Smith grappled with remain highly relevant. How do markets create prosperity? What responsibilities accompany wealth? And what role do institutions play in maintaining trust?
This publication brings together a diverse range of perspectives to explore those questions and encourage a richer conversation about the future purpose of markets and finance. Our hope is that it contributes not only to reflection, but to practical action.”
The publication builds on GEFI’s 2021 publication, The Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century, launched during COP26 in Glasgow, and forms part of the organisation’s Radical Old Idea series exploring the relationship between finance, ethics and long-term societal wellbeing.
Barry O’Dwyer, Group CEO of Royal London, said:
“The question is no longer simply how markets can grow, but how they can continue to function effectively over time. Seen through that lens, purpose and profit are not competing objectives. The task before us is not simply to look backwards with reverence, but to look forwards with moral imagination: to ask what kind of economy we are building, whom it serves, and whether it is capable of enduring. The essays in this report examine responsible investment and stewardship not as trends or labels, but as approaches to address the real, material challenges facing the financial system.”
The publication was launched at Ethical Finance Global 2026 in Edinburgh and supported by launch events during London Climate Action Week, bringing together contributors and senior leaders to discuss how the ideas explored in the collection can be translated into practical action.