Paul Wilmott (born 8 November 1959)[1] is an English researcher, consultant and lecturer in quantitative finance.

[3] One of two sons of an accountant and an entrepreneurial mother, Wilmott attended Wirral Grammar School for Boys in Bebington, and read mathematics at St Catherine's College, Oxford.

In a paper published by the Royal Society in 2000, he stated that "It is clear that a major rethink is desperately required if the world is to avoid a mathematician-led market meltdown… The underlying assumptions in the models, such as the importance of the normal distribution, the elimination of risk, measurable correlations, etc., are incorrect".

[11] Reflecting his concerns, in 2009 Wilmott and fellow quant Emanuel Derman co-authored the Financial Modelers' Manifesto, which lays out a series of principles for more responsibility in risk management and quantitative finance[12] In 2015, Paul posed as a potential donor to the United Kingdom Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties in order to expose wrongdoing in the election.

[13] In addition to research papers on quantitative finance, Wilmott has authored several textbooks, including: