Matt Ridley is a British writer, journalist and businessman. He has published several books on science, economics and the environment, as well as running his own blog and contributing to the The Times newspaper.

After attending Eton college, Ridley went on to study at Oxford University, obtaining a degree and later a PhD in zoology. He became the science editor of The Economist a year after gaining his PhD, before becoming Washington DC correspondent in 1987 and American editor for the magazine in 1990. Ridley was also a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, as well as an editor of The Best American Science Writing 2002. In 2010, he began writing his weekly Mind and Matter column for The Wall Street Journal, and since 2013 has written a column for The Times on science, economics and the environment.

Outside of being a writer, Ridley is also a prevalent businessman in the UK. He became a board member for the Northern Rock bank in 1994, becoming chairman in 2004. He was also the founding chairman of the International Centre for Life, the non-profit science centre which opened in Newcastle in 2000. He is a governor of the Ditchley Foundation and was instrumental in the commission and sponsorship of the public art installation Northumberlandia. He has also been made a Conservative hereditary peer, and holds a seat in the House of Lords.