The Accidental Billionaires
Encyclopedia
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal is a 2009 book by Ben Mezrich
about the founding of Facebook
. Co-founder Eduardo Saverin
served as Mezrich's main consultant. Mark Zuckerberg
declined to speak with Ben Mezrich while the book was being researched and after Zuckerberg and Saverin settled their lawsuit, Saverin broke off contact with the author.
, and Mark by creating a website where girls can be ranked according to their looks. Mark's stunt, though successful, puts him at odds with the Harvard Administrative Board, and has angered numerous campus women's groups, as well as individual female students. He does get noticed by Harvard seniors Cameron
and Tyler Winklevoss
and Divya Narendra
who are trying to launch a dating site. The trio approach Mark and convince him to join in. Mark however sees that their site doesn't have what he thinks is the right approach and starts to develop thefacebook.com with some help from Eduardo and Mark's roommates.
Once thefacebook.com is launched it becomes an instant hit on campus and infuriates the Winklevoss twins and Divya, who were kept out of the loop. The story then narrates the changing relationship with Mark and Eduardo, who have different methods of operating.
While the first half of the book centers on the Harvard University campus and focuses on college life, the second half centers around business in Silicon Valley
. Sean Parker
of Napster
fame becomes a mentor to Zuckerberg and guides him through Silicon Valley venture capitalists and other players in the industry. Eduardo, while completing his graduation, continues to feel sidelined by Parker, who he feels is not the best influence on Zuckerberg.
The end of the book cannot provide a conclusion since, according to the author's admission, matters are ongoing in the court of law. However, it does close a chapter in the Facebook story.
released a film adaptation of the book in 2010 titled The Social Network
. The film was directed by David Fincher
with the screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin
, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film starred Jesse Eisenberg
, Andrew Garfield
and Justin Timberlake
.
Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich is an American author from Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University in 1991. Some of his books have been written under the pseudonym Holden Scott. Mezrich attended Princeton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey...
about the founding of Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. Co-founder Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo P. Saverin is a Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and investor. Saverin is best known for co-founding Facebook, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes...
served as Mezrich's main consultant. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive and president...
declined to speak with Ben Mezrich while the book was being researched and after Zuckerberg and Saverin settled their lawsuit, Saverin broke off contact with the author.
Sources
Ben Mezrich maintains that the book is not a work of fiction despite his narrative style of writing. Some of his main sources are his conversations with Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and the court documents made available to him because of "all these college kids suing each other", in his own words.Content
The story begins a few weeks preceding the launch of "thefacebook.com" in Harvard. Eduardo, cast as the protagonist, befriends Mark, and both struggle for social acceptance—Eduardo by joining a Final clubFinal club
A final club is an undergraduate social club at Harvard College.- Origins :The historical basis for the name final clubs is that Harvard used to have a variety of clubs for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, with students of different years being in different clubs, and the "final clubs"...
, and Mark by creating a website where girls can be ranked according to their looks. Mark's stunt, though successful, puts him at odds with the Harvard Administrative Board, and has angered numerous campus women's groups, as well as individual female students. He does get noticed by Harvard seniors Cameron
Cameron Winklevoss
Cameron Howard Winklevoss is an American rower and entrepreneur. He competed in the men's pair rowing event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with his identical twin brother and rowing partner Tyler Winklevoss. Cameron and his brother are known for co-founding HarvardConnection along with Harvard...
and Tyler Winklevoss
Tyler Winklevoss
Tyler Howard Winklevoss is an American rower and entrepreneur. He competed in the men's pair rowing event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with his identical twin brother and rowing partner Cameron Winklevoss...
and Divya Narendra
Divya Narendra
Divya Narendra is an American businessman. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of SumZero. He also co-founded HarvardConnection with Harvard classmates Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss....
who are trying to launch a dating site. The trio approach Mark and convince him to join in. Mark however sees that their site doesn't have what he thinks is the right approach and starts to develop thefacebook.com with some help from Eduardo and Mark's roommates.
Once thefacebook.com is launched it becomes an instant hit on campus and infuriates the Winklevoss twins and Divya, who were kept out of the loop. The story then narrates the changing relationship with Mark and Eduardo, who have different methods of operating.
While the first half of the book centers on the Harvard University campus and focuses on college life, the second half centers around business in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. Sean Parker
Sean Parker
Sean Parker is an American technology businessman and entrepreneur. He co-founded Napster, Plaxo, Causes, and Airtime, and was Facebook's founding president. His net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.-Early life:...
of Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
fame becomes a mentor to Zuckerberg and guides him through Silicon Valley venture capitalists and other players in the industry. Eduardo, while completing his graduation, continues to feel sidelined by Parker, who he feels is not the best influence on Zuckerberg.
The end of the book cannot provide a conclusion since, according to the author's admission, matters are ongoing in the court of law. However, it does close a chapter in the Facebook story.
Film adaptation
Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
released a film adaptation of the book in 2010 titled The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
. The film was directed by David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
with the screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy award winning American screenwriter, producer, and playwright, whose works include A Few Good Men, The American President, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Social Network, and Moneyball.After graduating from Syracuse...
, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film starred Jesse Eisenberg
Jesse Eisenberg
Jesse Adam Eisenberg is an American actor. He made his screen debut with the comedy-drama television series Get Real from 1999 to 2000...
, Andrew Garfield
Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield is an American-English actor who has appeared in radio, theatre, film, and television. His early roles include the films Lions for Lambs, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and Boy A, which garnered him the 2007 BAFTA Television Award for "Best Actor".Garfield achieved...
and Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
.
External links
- The Accidental Billionaires preview at Google Books
- The Accidental Billionaires review - "Glancing At Facebook" by Paul BoutinPaul Boutin (journalist)Paul Boutin is a magazine writer and editor who writes about technology in a pop-culture context....
at The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal.... - Facebook in Popular Culture