A New Book
Water on Wall Street
The world's most vital resource is becoming its most contested investment. A landmark book about water scarcity, capital, and the choices that will define our century.
About the Book
Water is running out. Not everywhere, not all at once — but inexorably, and faster than most of us realise. In Water on Wall Street, the author takes readers on a journey through the hidden financial architecture of the global water crisis: the hedge funds betting on scarcity, the infrastructure investors quietly acquiring water rights, and the policymakers caught between profit and survival.
This is not a book about doom. It is a book about choices — and about the extraordinary opportunity to invest in a more sustainable future before the window closes.
“Water is the oil of the 21st century. The question is who controls it — and whether we let the market decide.”
“The next war won't be fought over oil.”
Key Themes
Three forces shaping the future of water
The Coming Water Crisis
By 2050, over five billion people will face water shortages. The crisis is already here — hidden in plain sight in the data, the droughts, and the dying rivers.
Water as an Asset Class
From water futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to private equity funds acquiring aquifers, capital is already pricing in scarcity. Are you?
Investing for a Sustainable Future
The most compelling investment thesis of our time is also the most urgent moral imperative. Water infrastructure, conservation technology, and sustainable agriculture offer returns — and a future.
What Readers Are Saying
“Water on Wall Street confronts one of the defining governance and sustainability challenges of our century: how societies value, govern, and safeguard water under accelerating climatic, geopolitical, and societal pressures. Marcel Boyer and Maria Kouyoumijian deliver a bold and intellectually compelling work that moves beyond ideological narratives to offer a rare integration of human rights, economics, policy, and environmental stewardship. Provocative, timely, and deeply relevant, this book should become essential reading for policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, and researchers shaping the future of global water resilience and sustainability.”
“Water is a human right and one of the world's most mispriced resources. In Water on Wall Street, Marcel Boyer and Maria Kouyoumijian cut through a debate too often frozen between activists who reject markets and economists who often ignore ethics. Their provocative case: the surest way to protect water is to price it and trade it, conserving supplies, ensuring access for all, and turning conflict into cooperation. Rigorous yet accessible, it is ultimately a hopeful blueprint for water security in the twenty-first century." - Stéphane Saussier, Sorbonne Business School and Director of the Water Economics Institute”
“Boyer and Kouyoumijian make a strong case that pricing and market incentives are essential for managing economic water. Collective water ― the water we need for human rights and ecosystems ― requires the kind of collective governance Ostrom championed. I'd also note that out-of-basin transfers create more problems than they solve and block-rate pricing must be per capita." - David Zetland, author of Living with Water Scarcity”
About the Author
Maria Kouyoumijian-Piana
Maria Kouyoumijian-Piana is an author and researcher specialising in water. With a background in the humanities, finance, and water engineering, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to water and sustainability.
Her work bridges financial systems and water resources, translating complex ideas into compelling, accessible narratives. Passionate about the intersection of markets and natural resources, Maria explores how capital shapes the future of water.
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The most important resource of the 21st century is hiding in plain sight.
Read the book that connects the dots.