History of the Columbia Economics Club
The Columbia Economics Club was founded in September of 1994, when Arthur Magill and Gordon Sherard of the Piedmont Economics Club in Greenville offered Carl Donnelly assistance in establishing a companion club in the Midlands. Carl Donnelly took advantage of that offer, and with the assistance of Joe Anderson, Tom Persons, J.C. Rhine, and Claude Scarborough, the CEC was successfully founded. The following month, the CEC hosted its first speaker, Laszlo Birinyi, a Forbes columnist and frequent guest on PBS’ investment news broadcast, Wall Street Week.
In 2016 the CEC voted to become a branch of the Bastiat Society, a group that was founded in 2004. The Bastiat Society was formed to bring business people together, defend their right to the moral high ground, and arm them with the ideas necessary to advance peaceful trade and human flourishing; all are ideas and concepts also supported by the CEC. Since inception, the CEC has hosted numerous speakers with diverse viewpoints on the economy, business, and investments.
Leadership
Ben A. Rast
Ben Rast is the founder and senior partner of a wealth advisory team in Columbia, SC. He was a weekly guest on the NBC affiliate WIS, the leading television news organization in the state for over thirteen years. Ben also hosted his own radio program on business and the economy while also commentating on South Carolina Radio regularly. He has published numerous articles in local and national periodicals, and frequently speaks to professional, civic, and fraternal groups on the topics of business, economics, investments, and financial planning. Ben has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College and the University of South Carolina, and has taught courses in the Department of Continuing Education at USC. Ben is a co-founder and president of the Bastiat Society, and was elected to membership in the Mont Pelerin Society, an international society of classical liberal intellectuals.
Matthew T. S. McFadden
Matthew is a partner of a wealth advisory team in Columbia, SC. He is also a member of the Columbia Sailing Club and a former board member of the Palmetto Opera.