I have been to many conferences over my 20+ year career, and your speech at the Broadmoor was the best after dinner speech I have ever heard--entertaining and educational--particularly on a personal level.
Ben Stein is the most famous economics teacher in history. This is because his iconic scene as the annoying economics teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"- "Anyone? Anyone" and "Bueller, Bueller" have become standard parts of the language of modern life. The scene was recently voted one of the 50 most famous scenes in American movie history.
But in real life, off screen, Ben Stein is a compelling, extremely humorous speaker about economics and politics and daily life in America. And, he really is an award winning, best selling, economist and lawyer and teacher (but funny and lively in real life). Ben Stein, who studied economics at Columbia and Yale and law at Yale under some of the most famous economists and jurists in the nation, has written path-breaking analyses of how finance works, what motivates business decision making, what causes economic crises, and what resolves them.
He has been a columnist and analyst of economic and legal and cultural behavior for The Wall Street Journal, for The New York Times, Fortune, The Washington Post, Yahoo Finance and many other publications.
In 2009, he won the Malcolm Forbes Award for Excellence in Financial Writing.
He is also the author of dozens of books about economics and finance, the last several of which were New York Times best sellers (Yes, You Can Time Market; Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably; and The Wiley Little Book of Bulletproof Investing. The Wiley Little Book of Alternative Investments, among others. His books on finance in the last several years were co-written with the distinguished and much sought after asset manager Philip DeMuth.
He is a regular contributor to Fox News, a long time commentator on CBS Sunday Morning, and a very frequent guest on CNN.
He also writes a very long running column for The American Spectator and has been writing for years for NewsMax.
As noted, he is an extremely frequent speaker to powerful groups of business and finance leaders, as well as to charitable and scholarly groups, where his skill is making even economics funny and touching and understandable. His father, Herbert Stein, was known as the most humorous of economists and Ben follows in his footsteps.
But what really sets him apart is that he has also had a major career as a writer and performer in Hollywood. In addition to his work in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off,"
Stein also played a teacher for three years on "The Wonder Years," and was host and contestant for almost 1,000 episodes of "Win Ben Stein's Money" in Comedy Central, for which he and co-host Jimmy Kimmel won an Emmy for best game show host. (The show itself won 7 Emmy's.)
He was also host of the talk show, "Turn Ben Stein On," on Comedy Central, and co-host of "Star Search" for three years on CBS and co-host of "America's Most Smartest Model" on VH-1. And he wrote numbers of screenplays and teleplays, some of them highly award-winning.
He was an adjunct teacher about economics, politics, and culture at American University, The University of California at Santa Cruz, and Pepperdine University.
He was a speechwriter in The White House for Richard M. Nixon and for Gerald R. Ford. He has been closely involved with the recent George W. Bush administration and, through his father, the well known economist, Herbert Stein, has had a pipeline into the inside of Washington since the Eisenhower Administration.
He is extremely involved in bringing recognition and family recovery to the surviving spouses and orphans and parents of American warriors killed in the
fights against terrorism. This has been a major commitment in his life.
Stein is also involved deeply in various cultural movements, especially questioning political correctness that chokes off inquiry into issues about evolution and life's origins. He was the host of the controversial documentary about political correctness on campus, "Expelled."
He lives in Washington, DC and Southern California with his wife of 43 years, Alexandra Denman, four dogs and eight cats (all rescues) and a fish.
Ben Stein offers laughter, insight and tears as he explores society’s most quirky conundrums. Armed with a curmudgeonly persona and offbeat style, he dissects the economy and helps audiences balance life’s priorities, even as he offers an eye-opening tour of its greatest absurdities. An exceptionally gifted economist whose market analysis is sought by companies and organizations across the country
Everyone's searching for the secrets to financial success, but what about the best ways to lose money . . . fast?! In How To Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio, bestselling author, economist, financial commentator, and media personality Ben Stein explains exactly what to do . . . to go bust! The ultimate "how-NOT-to" guide, the book gives readers invaluable tips that should be avoided at all costs. Written in Stein's own inimitable style, this hilarious guide provides essential financial advice on what not to do when it comes to managing money.
From reading and acting upon investing newsletters to trading on a margin, from investing in bonds to breathlessly following CNBC, and from buying stock in firms you do not understand to believing in your own genius at stock picking to keeping as little cash on hand as possible, Stein presents the rules that every would-be investor needs to know, so they can do the exact opposite and actually make money. Fully revised and updated, this new edition presents all-new missteps that can destroy any portfolio.
A laugh-out-loud approach to personal finance, How To Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio is an accessible guide to money from the funniest man in finance.
"Ben and Phil have done it again. Another lucid, insightful book, designed to enhance your wealth! In today's stock-addled cult of equities, there is a gaping hole in most investors' portfolios...the whole panoply of alternative investments that can simultaneously help us cut our risk, better hedge our inflation risk, and boost our return. This Little Book is filled with big ideas on how to make these markets and strategies a treasured part of our investing toolkit."
--Robert Arnott, Chairman, Research Affiliates
"I have been reading Ben Stein for thirty-five years and Phil DeMuth since he joined up with Ben ten years ago. They do solid work, and this latest is no exception."
--Jim Rogers, author of A Gift to My Children
"If anyone can make hedge funds sexy, Stein and DeMuth can, and they've done it with style in this engaging, instructive, and tasteful how-to guide for investing in alternatives. But you should read this Kama Sutra of investment manuals not just for the thrills, but also to learn how to avoid the hazards of promiscuous and unprotected investing."
--Andrew Lo, Professor and Director, MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering
Investing do's and don'ts from some of the most recognizable voices in personal finance
It's been a tough year for investors. Many have seen their retirement accounts dwindle dramatically and are looking for a safe way to protect what they have and make back some of what they've lost. That's why the bestselling author team of Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth have created The Little Book of Bulletproof Investing: Do's and Don'ts to Protect Your Financial Life.
When you invest, there are essential things you should do and many things you shouldn't. The Little Book of Bulletproof Investing: Do's and Don'ts to Protect Your Financial Life addresses this issue and shows you how to utilize the fundamentals of finance to achieve success in today's market. This practical guide contains proven advice on navigating today's treacherous financial landscape and will put you in a better position to make more informed investment decisions.
The Little Book of Bulletproof Investing: Do's and Don'ts to Protect Your Financial Life offers quick, easy-to-follow, and entertaining advice for anyone looking to get back on the right investment track.