William F. Sharpe

William F. Sharpe
Sharpe in 2007
Born	(1934-06-16) June 16, 1934 (age 89) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA, PhD)
Known for	Capital asset pricing model Sharpe ratio
Awards	Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1990)
Scientific career
Fields	Economics
Institutions	William F. Sharpe Associates Stanford University University of California, Irvine University of Washington 1961–68 RAND Corporation
Doctoral advisor	Armen Alchian Harry Markowitz (unofficial)
Doctoral students	Howard Sosin

William Forsyth Sharpe (born June 16, 1934) is an American economist. He is the STANCO 25 Professor of Finance, Emeritus at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Sharpe was one of the originators of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). He created the Sharpe ratio for risk-adjusted investment performance analysis, and he contributed to the development of the binomial method for the valuation of options, the gradient method for asset allocation optimization, and returns-based style analysis for evaluating the style and performance of investment funds.