When Nixon put America first and took the dollar off gold

About this episode

The episode discusses Richard Nixon's controversial decision to suspend the dollar's convertibility into gold and its impact on the global monetary order.

Today, when people hear the name Richard Nixon, they probably think of Watergate. Few remember another one of his most controversial acts – his suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold. The “Nixon Shock” as it became known was a quintessentially America First policy, which shattered the postwar global monetary order. But the US president was far more concerned about juicing the US economy and winning re-election than he was about upsetting America’s closest allies. In this second episode about Nixon’s pivotal decision, Professor Jeffrey Garten tells the story of its aftermath, while hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth explore the parallels with the present-day America First presidency. Further reading: Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy , by Jeffrey E Garten (2021) Gold and the dollar crisis , by Robert Triffin (1960) Our Dollar, Your Problem , by Kenneth Rogoff (2025) Credits: Getty Images, Associated Press, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here…

People in this episode

Hosts: Gillian Tett, Robin Wigglesworth

Guest: Jeffrey Garten

Topics covered

• Nixon Shock
• monetary policy
• America First
• global economy
• US politics
• economic history

Keywords

• Nixon
• dollar
• gold standard
• economic policy
• US economy
• Watergate
• monetary order
• America First

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Financial Times, Associated Press, Richard Nixon Presidential Library

Books & works: Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy, Gold and the dollar crisis, Our Dollar, Your Problem

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