Ben Mezrich | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1969-02-07)February 7, 1969 (age 56) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | Bringing Down the House The Accidental Billionaires The Antisocial Network |
| Spouse | [2] |
| Children | 2 |
Ben Mezrich (/ˈmɛzrɪk/MEZ-rik;[3] born February 7, 1969) is an American author.He has written well-knownnon-fiction books, includingThe Accidental Billionaires andThe Antisocial Network, which have been turned into the filmsThe Social Network andDumb Money, respectively. Some of his books have been written under thepen-nameHolden Scott.
Mezrich was born inPrinceton, New Jersey, the son of Molli Newman, a lawyer, and Reuben Mezrich,[4] a chairman of radiology at theUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine. He has two brothers, including Josh Mezrich. He was raised in aConservative Jewish household, and attendedPrinceton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey. He graduatedmagna cum laude with a degree inSocial Studies fromHarvard University in 1991.
Mezrich is best known for his first non-fiction work,Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, published in 2003. This book tells the story of a group of students fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology who bet onblackjack games using a sophisticatedcard counting system, earning millions of dollars at casinos inLas Vegas and other gambling centers in theUnited States and theCaribbean.[5] The story was made into the movie21, released in 2008.[6] Despite being categorized as non-fiction many of the characters inBringing Down the House are composite characters and some of the events described have been contested by the people the characters are based on.[7][8][9]
In 2004, Mezrich publishedUgly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions. This book recounts the exploits of an American assistant securities trader, John Malcolm.[10]
In 2005, Mezrich publishedBusting Vegas: The MIT Whiz Kid Who Brought the Casinos to Their Knees, a semi-sequel toBringing Down the House. The book tells the story of another student involved in a similar Blackjack team, but one that used more advanced techniques than the ones discussed in the first book. As withBringing Down the House, many of the events depicted inBusting Vegas were later contested by main characterSemyon Dukach, who described the book as "only about half true".[11]
In 2007, Mezrich publishedRigged: The True Story of a Wall Street Novice who Changed the World of Oil Forever, which recounts the formation of what would eventually become theDubai Mercantile Exchange by two young visionaries, one in theNew York Mercantile Exchange and the other in theDubai Ministry of Finance.
Mezrich published a new book in July 2009 aboutMark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, titledThe Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. It debuted at No. 4 onThe New York Times Nonfiction Bestseller List, and No. 1 onThe Boston Globe Nonfiction Bestseller List."[12]Aaron Sorkin adapted the book for the screenplay of the filmThe Social Network, which was released on October 1, 2010. It was directed byDavid Fincher and starsJesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg andAndrew Garfield asEduardo Saverin. Ten years later, in May 2019, Mezrich published a sequel centering onCameron andTyler Winklevoss:Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption.
In 2014, Mezrich publishedSeven Wonders, his first novel sinceThe Carrier in 2001.Seven Wonders is "a fast-moving thriller involving murder, conspiracy, historical mystery, and the Seven Wonders of the World", according toBooklist.[13][14]Publishers Weekly wrote that "Mezrich has written a rollicking adventure with a fantastic behind-the-scenes tour of some of the world's most intriguing spots."[15]
His 2021 book,The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees, was adapted into the filmDumb Money[16] directed byCraig Gillespie.[17]
His 2023 book,Breaking Twitter:Elon Musk andthe Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History, is set to become a limited series.
Mezrich has been married to Tonya M. Chen since 2006; they write theCharlie Numbers series together.[2] He lives inBoston.[18]
Mezrich representedMassachusetts as a contestant in theSexiest Bachelor in America Pageant onFox in 2000.[23]Fatal Error is aTBS premiere movie adaptation of his second book,Reaper, starringAntonio Sabato, Jr. andRobert Wagner.Skin was originally written as anX-Files episode.Rigged was optioned byMark Cuban's company 2929, as wasQ, a work of fiction by Mezrich.Ugly Americans has been optioned bySummit, with a screenplay written byRobert Schenkkan,Pulitzer Prize-winning writer ofThe Quiet American, and also a draft completed by Mezrich himself. Mezrich was the co-host of season 3 of theGSN seriesWorld Series of Blackjack andWorld Blackjack Tour. On August 9, 2016,20th Century Fox acquired the film adaptation rights to Mezrich's sci-fi novelWolly,[24] but the rights likely reverted back to Mezrich because ofDisney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox.[25] Mezrich's collaborator onSeven Wonders, film producerBeau Flynn, has set a television series adaptation forAmazon Prime Video withSimu Liu attached to both star in and produce the series.[26][27]
