Catherine Austin Fitts is an American investment banker, writer and former government official whose career has taken her from Wall Street to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and, later, independent financial commentary. She is best known for her senior position at investment bank Dillon, Read & Co., her work as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, and her role in establishing Hamilton Securities Group.
Today, Fitts is the president of Solari, Inc. and publisher of The Solari Report, a platform covering financial markets, government spending, monetary policy and the relationship between money and political power. Her career combines conventional investment banking and public administration with views on the financial system that should be distinguished from independently established facts.
Quick Answer: Who Is Catherine Austin Fitts?
Catherine Austin Fitts is an American investment banker, former government official and financial commentator. She served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1989 to 1990. She later founded Hamilton Securities Group and became president of Solari, Inc., as well as publisher of The Solari Report, a platform covering finance, government spending and economic policy.
Catherine Austin Fitts: Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Catherine Austin Fitts |
| Birthplace | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Birth year | 1950 |
| Profession | Investment banker, writer and financial commentator |
| Former government role | Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner |
| Former investment bank | Dillon, Read & Co. |
| Business venture | Hamilton Securities Group |
| Current professional roles | President of Solari, Inc. and publisher of The Solari Report |
Early Life and Education
Catherine Austin Fitts was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1950. Her educational background reflects an interest in the humanities as well as finance, a combination that later informed her work across investment banking, government administration and economic analysis.
She attended Bennett College, where she earned an associate degree in English in 1970. She subsequently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1974 and completed an MBA in finance at the university’s Wharton School in 1978. She also studied Mandarin Chinese in Hong Kong.
These qualifications provided an academic foundation for a career in financial services. Rather than remaining in one area of banking, Fitts went on to work across corporate finance, energy finance, mergers and acquisitions, and public finance.
Her Career on Wall Street
Fitts began working at Dillon, Read & Co., a New York investment bank, in 1978. Over the following decade, she moved through several positions, becoming a vice-president in 1982, senior vice-president in 1984 and managing director in 1986.
She also served on the firm’s board of directors. Her responsibilities covered several areas of investment banking, giving her experience with corporate transactions, capital markets and financial decision-making.
Her time at Dillon, Read was significant because it placed her within the private financial sector before she moved into federal government. The experience also became an important part of her later writing about the connections between Wall Street, public institutions and government policy.
Fitts left the firm in 1989 to take up a senior role in the George H. W. Bush administration.
Work at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development
In 1989, Fitts was nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. She held the position from 1989 to 1990.
The Federal Housing Administration, which operates within HUD, plays an important role in the US housing finance system through mortgage insurance and related programmes. As commissioner, Fitts had responsibilities involving the administration’s operations, housing finance, portfolio management and financial controls.
The position gave her direct experience of how government institutions manage large financial programmes and work with private-sector organisations. It also marked a transition from investment banking to public administration, where financial decisions affect housing markets, borrowers and public resources.
Her work at HUD would remain central to her subsequent business activities and public commentary.
Hamilton Securities Group and a Difficult Period
After leaving government, Fitts established and led Hamilton Securities Group, an investment-banking business that worked with public- and private-sector clients. The firm used financial software, databases and analytical tools to evaluate transactions and support investment decisions.
Hamilton Securities also became involved in HUD-related financial work. During the 1990s, its relationship with the department became contentious, particularly around the management of loan-sale programmes and the firm’s eventual removal from its work with HUD.
Contemporary reporting and later court records document disputes involving the company, HUD and aspects of the loan-sale process. The competing accounts should not be treated as interchangeable, and the existence of litigation does not automatically establish every allegation made by either side.
This period helps explain why Fitts’s later work frequently returned to questions about government finance, accountability and the relationship between public agencies and private institutions.
Her experience at Hamilton Securities forms part of her professional history, but her subsequent explanations of these events should be understood as her perspective rather than as a substitute for the underlying documentary record.
The Solari Report and Her Work Today
Fitts became president of Solari, Inc. in 1998. She is also the publisher of The Solari Report, through which she produces financial commentary, reports, interviews and other material.
The platform examines subjects including economic conditions, financial markets, government expenditure, precious metals, digital currencies and local investment. It also explores the ways in which financial decisions may affect individuals, households and communities.
A recurring theme in her work is the importance of understanding how money moves through public and private institutions. She argues for greater financial transparency and for individuals to pay closer attention to the structures that influence their economic choices.
Some of her more expansive claims about government finance and institutional power are contested. Readers should therefore distinguish her interpretation of financial events from conclusions established by official records, independent investigations or other corroborating evidence.
Her public work has continued in 2026. On 2 March, she submitted written testimony to the Idaho State Legislature’s House Business Committee in support of legislation concerning programmable money. The submission reflects her continuing interest in digital financial systems and the potential implications of programmable functions for financial privacy and individual control.
Books and Writing
Writing is an important part of Fitts’s professional identity. In addition to her commentary and interviews through The Solari Report, she has produced longer works examining finance, institutional power and personal responsibility.
One of her best-known publications is Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. & the Aristocracy of Stock Profits, an online work drawing on her experience in investment banking and her interpretation of the relationship between Wall Street and government.
Another is Coming Clean: Building a Wonderful World, written with the Solari team. The work combines spiritual themes with ideas about personal responsibility, economic choices and the possibility of building healthier communities. It was originally published in 2004 and revised and updated in November 2025.
These works illustrate how Fitts’s writing extends beyond conventional financial analysis. She frequently connects economic questions with wider arguments about ethics, civic responsibility and the use of institutional power.
Readers interested in her work should consider the distinction between her firsthand professional experience, her interpretations of historical events and her wider opinions about contemporary political and financial systems.
Religion and Personal Life
Fitts’s public professional record contains some information about her religious background. Her official résumé lists past membership in several churches, including Christ Our Hope Reformed Episcopal Church and Hickory Valley Baptist Church. It also records membership at General Assembly Church through December 2023.
These entries document past church involvement, but they do not establish her current religious affiliation. It would therefore be inappropriate to make an unqualified statement about how she currently identifies without a more direct confirmation.
She has generally presented her career and ideas more prominently than her private relationships. Reliable, up-to-date information confirming her current marital status was not established in the public sources reviewed for this profile.
Her personal net worth is also not reliably established. The value of financial transactions associated with her career should not be confused with her personal wealth, and speculative online estimates should not be presented as verified figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Catherine Austin Fitts?
Catherine Austin Fitts is an American investment banker, former government official, writer and financial commentator. She previously worked at Dillon, Read & Co. and served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner under President George H. W. Bush.
What did Catherine Austin Fitts do at HUD?
She served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner from 1989 to 1990. Her responsibilities included aspects of Federal Housing Administration operations, housing finance and financial administration.
What is Catherine Austin Fitts known for today?
She is known for leading Solari, Inc. and publishing The Solari Report, which covers financial markets, government spending, monetary policy and related political and economic issues.
Is Catherine Austin Fitts a Christian?
Her official résumé documents membership in several Christian churches during earlier periods of her life. However, those historical records do not independently confirm her current religious affiliation.
Is Catherine Austin Fitts married?
Her current marital status could not be reliably confirmed from the authoritative public sources reviewed. It is best not to rely on unverified online claims about her husband or relationships.
What is Catherine Austin Fitts’s net worth?
There is no reliably verified public figure establishing her personal net worth. Career transactions and investment portfolios associated with her professional work are not equivalent to personal assets.
What books has Catherine Austin Fitts written?
Her written work includes Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. & the Aristocracy of Stock Profits and Coming Clean: Building a Wonderful World, which she co-authored with the Solari team.
Catherine Austin Fitts has built a career spanning investment banking, public administration, business and independent financial commentary. Her background at Dillon, Read and HUD provides a documented foundation for understanding her work, while her later writing offers her own interpretation of wider financial and political questions. For readers following business and public affairs, BritInsight aims to distinguish established biographical facts from the views and claims that continue to shape her public profile.
