Who Is Erik Prince?

Founder and former CEO of Blackwater Worldwide, Erik Prince has been featured a number of times on Richardcyoung.com for his alternative ideas on managing U.S. foreign policy, usually with a focus on greater efficiency.

• Erik Prince: Slash the Pentagon by 40%? Easy
• Blackwater Founder Eric Prince on ISIS
• Should the Afghan War Be Privatized?
• Can Ex-Blackwater CEO Turn the Tables on Russia Alarmists?
• Erik Prince on What’s Happening in Afghanistan
• The Afghanistan Disaster: Erik Prince Speaks the Truth
• Could Trump Win Afghanistan Using Mercenaries?

While Prince is no longer part of Blackwater, the company maintains his biography on its website, writing:

Erik D. Prince is a US-born entrepreneur, philanthropist, Navy SEAL veteran and private equity investor with business interests in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. A strong supporter of economic development in emerging markets, he is the founder and chairman of Frontier Resource Group, a private equity firm that invests in transformative natural resource projects. Prior to establishing the Frontier Group of companies, Mr. Prince founded and ultimately sold Blackwater USA, a provider of global security, training and logistics solutions to the US Government and others, which he sold in 2010 and Presidential Airways, a global transportation company with over 70 aircraft operating in emerging markets. Mr. Prince is married and between himself and his wife Stacy enjoy raising 12 children. He was educated at Hillsdale College in Michigan and upon graduation joined the US Navy, where he served as a Navy SEAL officer until 1996. Mr. Prince’s philanthropic endeavors are focused on refugees, humanitarian relief and economic development. Mr. Prince’s career of extensive professional engagements throughout the world give him a unique perspective on developing economic trends, opportunities and risks to consider.

For a glimpse into Prince’s philosophy, watch his address to the Oxford Union here: