Richard Lui

Richard Lui has been an MSNBC dayside anchor since September 2010. He has anchored some of the network’s major breaking stories, including the 2011 debt-ceiling debate, the Arab Spring, and the deficit supercommittee failure. His daily reports have included the Tea Party movement, candidates’ social media strategies, and the link of unemployment to electability.

Before joining MSNBC, Lui spent five years at CNN Worldwide, most recently with CNN Headline News as the solo anchor of the 10 a.m. hour of “Morning Express.” He led the network’s morning political reporting throughout the 2008 presidential election. Lui occasionally is a guest on political talk shows The Bill Press Show and The Stephanie Miller Show.

Lui’s passion for politics started in the 70s, debating California’s controversial Proposition 13 on bus rides to school. That interest turned into a job at the age of 19: campaign manager for San Francisco College Board incumbent Alan Wong. After the election, Lui returned to college. His plan was to write on policy and the affairs of state, subscribing to the Washington Post when it had to be mailed to the west coast.

In the 1990s, Lui reported for news radio KALX during a unique time in California politics. He was assigned to stories including Dianne Feinstein’s first successful U.S. Senate campaign and the Rodney King verdict and riots.

Later in the 2000s, Lui reported from Asia during an increasingly heated political climate. Two Muslim countries in Southeast Asia transformed: Indonesia’s Sukarno family was defeated after rule spanning over half a century; and Malaysia’s prime minister, after almost a quarter of a century handed over power. Lui also reported on Taiwan’s controversial election between pro- and anti- China political parties. He was at Channel NewsAsia, an English-only news network in 20 countries and territories.

In addition to his political and journalism work, Lui spent 15 years in business working in consulting, manufacturing, food and beverage, and environmental industries. During the late 1990s, Lui worked with several new technology businesses in Northern California. Most recently he cofounded the first bank-centric payment system for which he holds a patent. He also worked for firms including Citibank, and Mercer Management Consulting in New York.

Lui has spent 25 years in community service in Africa, Asia, and the United States, volunteering for organizations like the United States Capitol Historical Society, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, and APIA Vote.

Lui attended UC Berkeley majoring in the political economy of industrial society, later graduating with a BA in rhetoric. He received his MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and is enrolled at Stanford University in its program in International Security.