Ben Stein Bio, Age, Education, Marriage, Net Worth, Books, Movies, Evolution, On Trump, Bueller, Interview

Ben Stein Bio

Benjamin Jeremy Stein who is best known as Ben Stein is a conservative American writer, lawyer, actor, and commentator on political and economic issues.He entered the entertainment field and became an actor, comedian, and Emmy Award-winning game show host. He is most well-known on screen as the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and as Dr. Arthur Neuman in The Mask (1994) and Son of the Mask (2005).

Stein is also a filmmaker. He co-wrote and starred in the 2008 documentary Expelled, which portrays intelligent design (which some associate with creationism) as a scientifically valid alternative to Darwinian evolution and alleges a scientific conspiracy against those promoting intelligent design in laboratories and classrooms. Stein said that his aim was to expose “people out there who want to keep science in a little box where it can’t possibly touch God.”

Ben Stein Age

He is 74 years old as of 2019, since he was born on November 25, 1944.

Ben Stein Height and Weight

At the age of 74, Ben Stein’s height is 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) while his weight is yet to be determined but very soon it will be updated.

Ben Stein Education

Stein graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1962 along with classmate journalist Carl Bernstein, actress Goldie Hawn was one year behind. Actor Sylvester Stallone was a schoolmate at Montgomery Hills Junior High School.

He went on to major in economics at Columbia University’s Columbia College, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and the Philolexian Society. After graduating with honors from Columbia in 1966, Stein went to Yale Law School, graduating as valedictorian in June 1970.

Ben Stein Family

Stein was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Mildred a homemaker, and Herbert Stein, a writer, economist, and presidential adviser. He is Jewish and grew up in the Woodside Forest neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Ben Stein Marriage

Stein is married to entertainment lawyer Alexandra Denman, who is from Arkansas.
They were married in 1968, but later divorced in 1974. Eventually, they got back together, and in 1977, they were married again.

Ben Stein Children

They have one son, Tom, born in 1987.

Ben Stein Net Worth

He has a net worth of $20 million dollars, gained as an American actor, writer, lawyer and commentator on political and economic issues.

Ben Stein Career

After graduation from the law school, he started his career as a poverty lawyer in New Haven, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. and later joined as an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission. Shortly after, he moved to California to teach film and law classes at the University of California. In 1973, he returned to Washington and resumed his job at the FTC.

As the Watergate scandal unfolded, he wrote editorials in defense of President Richard Nixon. When the articles caught the attention of the Nixon administration, he was recruited by Pat Buchanan. He began his political career as a speechwriter and lawyer for President

Nixon and later for President Gerald Ford.
In 1984, he made his big screen debut in the role of a surplus salesman in the movie ‘The Wild Life’. His film career received a boost from his famous cameo role as the colorless and boring economics teacher in the 1986 cult movie ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’.

His other film appearances include character roles in ‘Ghostbusters II’ (1989), ‘Dennis the Menace’ (1993), ‘Casper’ (1995), ‘House Arrest’ (1996) and ‘Son of the Mask’ (2005). He also did voice works for several movies such as ‘Rugrats’, ‘Hercules’, ‘The Emperor’s New School’ , ‘King of the Hill’ and ‘Santa vs. the Snowman 3D’.

Some of his notable TV appearance were playing the roles of Rabbi Goldberg on ‘Family Guy’, Dr. Mopp on the ‘Hughleys’, Sam Hinkle on ‘Total Security’, Shellbach on ‘Seinfeld’ and Thomas on ‘Married with Children’. He had a recurring role in the TV series ‘The Wonder Years’ (1989-91).

He is also a notable author, an accomplished writer of both fiction and non-fiction books. His fictional works include ‘On the Brink: A Novel’ (1978), ‘Dreemz’ (1978) and ‘Her Only Sin’ (1986).
Some of his non-fiction books are ‘The View from Sunset Boulevard: America as brought to you by the people who make television’ (1979), ‘How to Ruin Your Life’ (2002), ‘How to Ruin Your Financial Life’ (2004), ‘Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor: Reaching for Yield in Today’s Market’ (2005), ‘The Real Stars: In Today’s America, Who Are the True Heroes?’ (2007) and ‘How To Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio’ (2012).

He continues to write on a variety of topics including politics, investing, and economics. He writes a regular column in the conservative magazines ‘The American Spectator’ and ‘Newsmax’. He has also written for numerous publications including ‘The Wall Street Journal’, ‘The New York Times’, ‘New York Magazine’ and ‘Penthouse’.

Ben Stein Books

Ben Stein On Trump

Stein’s sense of humor was very much evident in a talk that warmed up the audience with a stream of jokes.

But after that he got down to business, and a grim business it was.

After cataloguing ills ranging from slavery to the 2008 economic meltdown that the United States has survived, only to see new problems crop up, he concluded “What have we learned? Things are very uncertain.”

Then he launched into what he sees as the most pressing problems confronting the nation today.

First on his list was the deficit. “It’s getting out of control,” he said.

He had harsh words for President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.

“You cannot expect to cut taxes drastically and expect to have more revenue,” he said. “It can’t be done. It’s the Republican answer to the Green New Deal. It’s a childish fantasy.”

As for the Democrats’ Green New Deal and Medicare for All proposals, if they were enacted “we will be bankrupt instantly,” Stein said.

Come to that, “we’re bankrupt right now” if we add up all the country owes in bond payments, Medicare, Social Security and other benefits, he said.

Beyond the economic unsustainability of the Green New Deal, Stein claimed enforcing the plan would put the nation on “a straight line to dictatorship.”

He’s also fearful of inflation. “We’re pumping money into this economy at an alarming rate,” he said.

If inflation takes off, there’s no remedy in sight for a couple of reasons, he said. The country can’t cut expenditures without infuriating the left and we need to spend more on defense. If the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, the nation risks plunging into recession.

“We are living in a Pollyannaish best of all possible worlds but it can’t go on,” he said.

Stein also raised red flags about the U.S. education system, for which he said the country pays more and gets less than other developed nations, and loosening marijuana laws.

His pal tycoon Warren Buffett says the country will get through these problems just as it has the ones that preceded them, Stein said.

“But will we?” he asked. “At some point does our luck run out?”

Nevertheless, he said, he’s grateful to be living in the United States, which he called “the best place that’s ever been.”

Ben Stein on Evolution

Ben Stein got his start as a lawyer and a speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford, and in more recent years he has written books, offered investment advice, and hosted both a game show (Win Ben Stein’s Money) and a reality TV show (America’s Most Smartest Model). But he is probably still best known for playing the boring high-school economics teacher who took attendance in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Now Stein is tackling education of a different kind, as the star of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a documentary about the Intelligent Design movement—and the academic establishment’s efforts to stifle the debate over the limitations of evolutionary theory that many ID advocates have been calling for.

The film opens in limited release this Friday.

How did you get involved in this movie?

Ben Stein: Walt Ruloff [co-writer and co-producer of the film] contacted me and showed me a bunch of very interesting slides and moving pictures about the cell. We talked a lot about the historical effects of Darwinism and social Darwinism, and he asked me if I would like to host a discussion about where Darwinism had gaps and where there were some unanswered questions about evolution. He said I could have a little bit of input into the storyline. I told him I was especially horrified by what Darwinism’s social and historical impact had been on Jews, and that that would motivate me to try to get some involvement in the project.

How familiar were you with the subject of Intelligent Design prior to this?

Stein: Not at all. I’m still not that familiar with it. I’m more familiar with it than most people, but nowhere near as familiar with it as a genuine expert in the subject. I don’t pretend to be a scientist. I’m the person who moderates the …

Ben Stein Bueller

Ben Stein Interview

What do you think the economy would look like two years into the presidency of all three remaining presidential candidates?

Ben Stein:the candidates are against free trade – that’s a disastrous mistake. Free trade is one of the main sources of economic growth. Any interference with free trade in the long run produces negative results for the country that imposes the restrictions. One of the great breakthroughs in all of human history has been free trade.

When I hear Mr Trump or Mrs Clinton or Mr Sanders talk about how they are going to stop free trade and in some way block America from being part of the world trading system, it makes my blood run cold. That’s a terrible, terrible prospect.

Second, it is very clear, extremely clear, that additional regulation on the economy at this point would be a burden on growth and whichever candidate imposes the most regulation is going to get the least growth. I give credit to Mr Trump, who says he is going to reduce regulation. If Mr Sanders were president, it would be an absolute, total catastrophe. He would regulate the American economy to death. Mrs Clinton, I think, would do a fine job. I don’t worry about her in terms of regulation at all. Except that her taxes on the fossil fuel industry are unwarranted and unwise.

In terms of tax policy, all of them say they are going to cut taxes on the poor, but that’s a fake because the American poor already pay no taxes. Approximately 50% of American wage earners don’t pay any tax already, so that’s a fake.

In terms of raising tax on the rich, frankly, I think that’s a good idea. The rich in this country are really, really rich. And they can pay more tax. Whether that’s going to be enough to substantially affect the deficit is very, very questionable. I applaud Mr Sanders for wanting to seriously raise rates on the rich. That is something that should happen. If he did it, there would be a lot of yelling and screaming but I don’t think the deficit would be affected very much.

Mrs Clinton, I think, has a more balanced approach. I think probably a good approach. Mr Trump says he can both reduce taxes and reduce the deficit. That’s complete nonsense.

What do you think of Trump as a businessman?

Ben Stein:He is not a great businessman. He inherited a great deal of money. He did some successful real estate deals. Hardly anyone could miss doing successful real estate deals in New York considering the incredible boom that has taken place and the very low base point when he started out. He is not a great businessman at all – in no way.

Let me back up and say, everyone I know says he is an incredibly nice guy. That’s got to count for something. I don’t think he is a great businessman and even if he were a great businessman, that doesn’t mean he would be a great steward of the US economy. The two have nothing to do with each other.

Imagine Trump is elected president and he starts enforcing some of the policies he has mentioned. Would the economy improve, stay the same or get worse?

Ben Stein:It would get much worse. In terms, it would be a disaster. Trade is very important. The US economy is roughly 15% trade dependent – very roughly 15%.

The question of the day: would his gains in fossil fuel deregulation offset the losses in trade? I doubt it.

It’s very, very important that he get educated about the benefits of free trade.

What does his popularity with working-class Americans mean? What do the regular folks feel about the economy?

Ben Stein:don’t think the regular folks – of course, I don’t know that many regular folks – but I don’t think the regular folks know much about the economy or about how trade works. If the regular folks think that China came along in the middle of the night and stole all their jobs, then nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just nonsense. I think Trump is popular because he says: I am going to go to China and get those jobs back. But he is not going to be able to do that. And any attempt to try would be a disaster.

Could we educate people about why certain jobs have been lost? Anything to change their minds about this kind of rhetoric?

Ben Stein:I don’t think so. I hate to say that. The only thing, I think, that would change their minds is if one of these anti-free trade candidates became president and they saw the terrible results. I think that might change their minds.

There are plenty of smart people out there saying: don’t stop free trade. Keep free trade alive and well.

I don’t think Mr Trump is listening. I don’t think Hillary is listening. I don’t think Mr Sanders is listening. I don’t think they are listening.

Are you surprised that Trump is basically the nominee of the Republican party?

Ben Stein:I am absolutely … I am open-mouthed, gasping, unbelievable. But he has his charms. There must be something people like about him. I don’t get him but there must be something people like.

I’ll vote for him, by the way. I’ll vote for him because I think he does personify a kind of national pride which I think has been lacking in the Obama days and would be terribly lacking under Bernie Sanders and terribly lacking under Hillary Clinton. But I think his economics is way, way out of whack and he seriously needs some education about it.

Do you think Congress would let Trump implement the type of policies he has suggested?

Ben Stein:Yes, I do. If he had Republican Congress, I think they would let him attack free trade. But then when the trade war starts and businesses start closing, I think they would be singing a different tune.

You said the candidates know so little. Do you think it’s that they know so little or are they just saying what they think people want to hear?

Ben Stein:I don’t think Trump knows a goddamn thing about economics. But I like him anyway, I might add. I think Mrs Clinton knows something about it. She is an intelligent woman, she went to Wellesley. She was a classmate of mine at Yale law school and I hope we learned something while we were there. And, as to Mr Sanders, I think he is purposely, willfully ignorant. I think he is a person who could be educated but he has some kind of personality defect that prevents him from being educated.

source: www.theguardian.com