Gideon Gono

Gono is banned from travelling to the United States and EU member states because of his position in the government of Zimbabwe. He was added to the EU's list of individuals subject to personal sanctions—a ban on travel to the EU and the freezing of any assets there—in 2007.

On 24 October 2010, the South-African newspaper Sunday Times ran a story falsely claiming that he had an affair with Amai Grace Mugabe, the wife of President Robert Mugabe. It was later reported that the story could have been made up as a part of internal fighting inside the ruling party or the RBZ.

Gono denied media claims that he had opposed price cuts that the government instituted to arrest inflation. As time went by, it became apparent that the RBZ had instituted price cuts that saw bare shelves in shops and many businesses closing. He sent in the police to arrest businessmen for failing to reduce their prices. On one occasion, he personally visited shop owners in Harare to demand they lower prices. Despite these efforts, inflation in Zimbabwe remains the world's highest. (Note: after dollarization in 2009, Zimbabwe's inflation rate has become deflation since 2014. )

Gono was first appointed as governor of the Reserve Bank in November 2003 because of his reputation as a turnaround specialist, particularly because of his work at the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe. In November 2008, Gono was reappointed to a new five-year term as governor, beginning on 1 December 2008. Gono stepped down on 30 November 2013 after a 10-year term at the helm of the Reserve Bank.

In November 2008, Gono published a book titled Zimbabwe's Casino Economy: Extra-ordinary Measures for Extra-ordinary Challenges describing the post-colonial economy of Zimbabwe particularly during the first five years (2003–2008) of his term as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

He obtained a master's degree in Business Administration at the University of Zimbabwe and went on to lecture there, and was also appointed to head the University of Zimbabwe Council. He was awarded an honorary degree at the same institution. He then went on to earn another PhD in Strategic Management in 2007 from Atlantic International University.

The RBZ demonetized old bank notes on 1 August 2006 and introduced a new currency. Each new Zimbabwe dollar was worth 1000 old Zimbabwe dollars. The highest denominations for the new currency were 1, 10, and 100 thousand revalued dollars. A year later on 1 August 2007, he authorized a 200 thousand dollar denomination. This marked the start of a series of new denominations issued in rapid succession, including 250, 500, and 750 thousand dollars (20 December 2007); 1, 5, and 10 million dollars (16 January 2008); 25 and 50 million dollars (4 April 2008); 100 and 250 million dollars (5 May 2008); 500 million and 5, 25, and 50 billion dollars (20 May 2008); and 100 billion dollars (21 July 2008). From the time of currency revaluation to the beginning of June 2008 the money supply in the country increased from billion to more than quadrillion, or a 20,000,000 fold increase.

The RBZ printed large quantities of money to keep the economy afloat against the backdrop of economic sanctions placed upon the Zimbabwe since 2000. This went against the advice of global economists, but with full support from President Robert Mugabe. As predicted by the textbook quantity theory of money, this practice devalued the Zimbabwean dollar and caused hyperinflation.

Like many of Mugabe's inner circle, Gono also owns a farm (in Norton). However, unlike others, he is said to have bought and paid for it in the late 1990s before the land redistribution program in which other farms were confiscated from localised white farmers.

Gono started his career as a tea boy at National Breweries in Que Que in 1977. He put himself through various correspondence courses from O-Level through A-Level and moved on to the Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company as a bookkeeper. After working at Van Leer as an accountant, he was appointed finance manager at the Zimbabwe Development Bank (ZDB) in 1987. When he left the Zimbabwe Development Bank in 1995, he had risen to the post of general manager.

Gideon Gono (born 29 November 1959) was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) from 2003 to 2013 and is the former CEO of the Jewel Bank, formerly known as the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe.