Ben Stein

Benjamin Jeremy Stein (born November 25, 1944) is an American writer, lawyer, economist, actor, comedian and political commentator whose career spans more than five decades. He began his professional life as a speechwriter for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, later serving as a poverty lawyer and a trial attorney for the Federal Trade Commission before moving into academia as an adjunct professor at American University, UC‑Santa Cruz and Pepperdine Law School. Stein earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Columbia University in 1966 and graduated as valedictorian from Yale Law School in 1970, credentials that underpinned his later work as a financial columnist for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator and Newsmax. In the entertainment world, he achieved iconic status with his dead‑pan delivery as the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and later as the host of the Comedy Central game show Win Ben Stein’s Money, a role that earned him five Daytime Emmy Awards. His filmography also includes memorable supporting roles in The Mask, Son of the Mask, and the controversial documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which reflects his outspoken advocacy of intelligent‑design perspectives. Beyond screen work, Stein has authored several best‑selling books on investing and retirement, contributed op‑eds on tax policy and foreign affairs, and frequently appears as a pundit on networks such as CNBC and CNN. Despite his public persona, he maintains a private life centered in Beverly Hills and Malibu with his wife, entertainment lawyer Alexandra Denman, and continues to lecture, write, and act, illustrating a rare blend of legal expertise, economic insight, and comic timing.