Mark Baum Net Worth: The Man Behind The Big Short
Mark Baum is a fictional character from the 2015 movie The Big Short, based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis.
He is portrayed by Steve Carell as an outspoken hedge fund manager who bets against the US housing market before the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
But who is the real person behind Mark Baum, and how much is he worth?
In this article, we will explore the biography, career, and net worth of Steve Eisman, the inspiration for Mark Baum.
Michael Burry’s Net Worth
Before we dive into Steve Eisman’s story, let’s take a look at another key figure from The Big Short: Michael Burry.
He is played by Christian Bale as an eccentric and visionary investor who:
- first discovers the instability of the subprime mortgage market
- creates a credit default swap market to profit from it
He is also the only person in the movie who uses his real name.
Michael Burry is the founder and CEO of Scion Asset Management, a hedge fund that he started in 2000.
He has a medical degree from Vanderbilt University.
Michael Burry was a neurology resident at Stanford Hospital before quitting to pursue his passion for investing.
He is known for his unconventional and contrarian approach to the stock market, as well as his preference for working alone in his office with bare feet and heavy metal music.
According to various sources, Michael Burry’s net worth is estimated to be between $200 million and $300 million as of 2022.
He made most of his fortune by betting against the housing bubble, which earned him $100 million personally and $700 million for his investors.
He also predicted the 2020 stock market crash due to the COVID-19 pandemic and made another huge profit by shorting Tesla, GameStop, and other overvalued stocks.
Jared Vennett Net Worth
Another character from The Big Short is Jared Vennett, played by Ryan Gosling.
He is a slick and charismatic trader who works for Deutsche Bank and acts as the narrator of the movie.
He also joins forces with Mark Baum and his team to short the housing market.
However, his real name is Greg Lippmann, and he is a former bond salesman and mortgage trader.
Greg Lippmann started his career at Salomon Brothers in 1991 and later joined Deutsche Bank in 1998.
He was one of the first people to recognize the flaws and risks of the subprime mortgage industry and to create synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that allowed investors to bet against it.
He also warned his clients and colleagues about the impending collapse of the housing market but was often ignored or ridiculed.
Greg Lippmann’s net worth is not publicly known, but it is estimated that he made at least $50 million from his short position on the housing market.
He left Deutsche Bank in 2010 and founded his own hedge fund, LibreMax Capital, which specializes in structured credit products.
As of 2021, LibreMax Capital has about $3.7 billion in assets under management.
Mark Baum Net Worth 2008
Now let’s get back to Mark Baum, or rather Steve Eisman, the real person behind him.
Steve Eisman is a hedge fund manager and investor who became famous for his role in The Big Short.
He is also known for his outspoken and cynical personality, as well as his crusade against for-profit colleges and other fraudulent or unethical businesses.
Steve Eisman grew up in New York City in a family of brokers.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and Harvard Law School in 1987.
Mark Baum worked as a lawyer for a short time before switching to finance.
He joined Oppenheimer & Co. as an equity analyst and later moved to Chilton Investment Company as a portfolio manager.
In 2004, he founded FrontPoint Partners, a hedge fund that was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2006.
Steve Eisman’s net worth in 2008 was not disclosed, but it is estimated that he made about $1 billion for FrontPoint Partners and $250 million for himself by shorting the housing market.
He was one of the main sources for Michael Lewis’s book The Big Short, which depicted him as a moral crusader who exposed the corruption and greed of Wall Street.
In the movie adaptation, he was renamed Mark Baum and played by Steve Carell.
Steve Eisman’s Net Worth
What happened to Steve Eisman after the financial crisis?
Well, he continued to manage FrontPoint Partners until 2011, when he left amid a scandal involving one of his co-workers who was accused of insider trading.
He then launched his own hedge fund, Emrys Partners, with $23 million in seed capital.
However, he closed the fund in 2014, citing the difficulty of finding good investment opportunities in the post-crisis environment.
In 2014, Steve Eisman joined Neuberger Berman as a managing director and a portfolio manager for the Eisman Group, which is part of the firm’s private asset management division.
He works alongside his parents, Elliott and Lillian Eisman, who are also partners in the group.
The Eisman Group manages portfolios of stocks for wealthy clients, focusing on financial services, consumer, and technology sectors.
Steve Eisman’s current net worth is not officially known, but it is estimated to be in the multi-millions.
He lives in New York City with his wife, Valerie Feigen, who is also a former lawyer and investor.
They have three children, two of whom have autism.
He is also involved in various philanthropic causes, such as supporting autism research and education.
Mark L Baum
Mark L. Baum is another person who shares the same name as the fictional character from The Big Short but has nothing to do with him.
Mark L. Baum is the CEO of Harrow Health, a pharmaceutical company that develops and sells ophthalmic products.
He is also an entrepreneur, investor, lawyer, and author.
Mark L. Baum was born in 1974 and grew up in Los Angeles.
He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996 and Loyola Law School in 1999.
Mark L. Baum practised law for a few years before founding his first company, Access Pharmaceuticals, which specialized in cancer drugs.
He later sold the company and founded Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, which later became Harrow Health.
Mark L. Baum’s net worth is estimated to be between $12 million and $18.2 million as of January 2022, based on his stock ownership and sales1. He is also an active angel investor and advisor for several startups and nonprofits.
He has written two books:
- The Billion Dollar Mistake: Learning the Art of Investing Through the Missteps of Legendary Investors (2008)
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing (2015)
Mark Baum Today
So where is Mark Baum today? Well, there is no Mark Baum today, because he never existed in the first place.
He is a fictional character based on Steve Eisman, who is still working as a hedge fund manager at Neuberger Berman.
He is also still outspoken and controversial, often making bold predictions and criticisms about various industries and companies.
For example, in 2019, he predicted that Tesla would go bankrupt within a year.
He also said that Netflix was overvalued and that Disney would crush it.
Mark Baum also slammed Zillow for its home-flipping business model and said that it was doomed to fail.
He also expressed his scepticism about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
However, not all of his views are negative.
He has praised some companies and sectors that he believes have strong fundamentals and growth potential.
For instance, he has been bullish on Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Visa.
He has also been optimistic about the US economy and the banking system, saying that they are much safer and more resilient than before the financial crisis.
Mark Baum Harrow Health
As we have seen, Mark Baum has nothing to do with Harrow Health.
The CEO of Harrow Health is Mark L Baum, who is a different person with a different background and career.
However, there is one connection between them: they both have an interest in the pharmaceutical industry.
Steve Eisman, the real person behind Mark Baum, has been investing in pharmaceutical stocks for a long time.
He has said that he likes the sector because it has high barriers to entry, strong intellectual property rights, and stable cash flows.
He has also said that he looks for companies that have innovative drugs or therapies that can address unmet medical needs or improve patient outcomes.
Steve Eisman Investments
Some of the pharmaceutical companies that Steve Eisman has invested in or commented on include:
- Allergan: A global pharmaceutical company that produces Botox and other cosmetic products. Steve Eisman was a shareholder of Allergan until it was acquired by AbbVie in 2020.
- Pfizer: A global pharmaceutical company that produces Viagra and other blockbuster drugs. Steve Eisman was a shareholder of Pfizer until he sold his stake in 2019. He also praised Pfizer for its COVID-19 vaccine development with BioNTech.
- Teva: An Israeli pharmaceutical company that specializes in generic drugs. Steve Eisman shorted Teva in 2017, saying that it was facing multiple challenges such as debt problems, pricing pressures, and legal issues.
- Valeant: A Canadian pharmaceutical company that was involved in a massive accounting fraud and price-gouging scandal in 2015. Steve Eisman shorted Valeant in 2016, saying that it was a “roll-up” company that relied on acquisitions and debt to boost its earnings.
- Moderna: A US biotechnology company that develops mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics. Steve Eisman bought Moderna shares in 2020, saying that it was one of the leaders in the COVID-19 vaccine race and that it had a strong pipeline of other products.
Is Mark Baum a Real Person?
As we have established, Mark Baum is not a real person, but a fictional character based on Steve Eisman.
However, he is not the only fictional character in The Big Short.
In fact, most of the characters in the movie are either composites or aliases of real people who were involved in the financial crisis.
Here are some examples:
- Ben Rickert: A retired banker who helps Jamie Shipley and Charlie Geller, two young investors who also bet against the housing market. He is played by Brad Pitt in the movie. His real name is Ben Hockett, and he was a former trader at Deutsche Bank who quit his job and moved to Colorado.
- Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley: Two friends who run a small hedge fund called Brownfield Capital. They are played by John Magaro and Finn Wittrock in the movie. Their real names are Charlie Ledley and Jamie Mai, and they founded Cornwall Capital in 2003.
- Georgia Hale: A rating agency employee who reveals to Mark Baum and his team how flawed and corrupted the ratings system is. She is played by Melissa Leo in the movie. Her real name is Georgia Chin, and she worked for Standard & Poor’s until 2008.
How Much Money is Mark Baum Worth?
Since Mark Baum is not a real person, we cannot answer this question with certainty.
However, we can estimate his net worth based on Steve Eisman’s net worth and the amount of money he made from his short position in the housing market.
According to various sources, Steve Eisman’s net worth is estimated to be in the multi-millions as of 2021.
He made about $250 million for himself and $1 billion for FrontPoint Partners by shorting the housing market in 2008.
Assuming that Mark Baum’s net worth is similar to Steve Eisman’s net worth, we can estimate that Mark Baum’s net worth is also in the multi-millions as of 2021.
How Much Money did Mark Baum Make in 2008?
As we have seen, Mark Baum made about $250 million for himself
He also made $1 billion for FrontPoint Partners by shorting the housing market in 2008.
This was a huge profit, considering that he started with about $110 million in assets under management.
However, he also paid a high price for his success.
Mark Baum is deeply affected by the moral implications of his trade in the movie
He realizes that he is profiting from the misery and suffering of millions of people who lost their homes, jobs, and savings due to the financial crisis.
Mark Baum also feels guilty for not doing more to prevent or expose the fraud and corruption that caused the crisis.
He suffers from depression, anxiety, and insomnia, and his marriage becomes strained.
In real life, Steve Eisman also faced similar challenges after the financial crisis.
He said that he felt “horrible” for making money from the crisis and that he wished he had been wrong.
Mark Baum also said that he lost many friends and colleagues who either died or went bankrupt due to the crisis.
He also struggled with his personal life, as his wife filed for divorce in 2013.
What does Mark Baum do?
Shorting stocks of companies that he believes are overvalued, fraudulent, or unethical are the specialities of Mark.
He is also an activist investor who uses his influence and platform to expose and challenge the wrongdoings of various industries and companies.
Mark Baum is passionate about his work and his mission.
He is not afraid to speak his mind and confront anyone who disagrees with him.
Mark Baum is also very knowledgeable and analytical about the financial markets and the economy.
He has a team of loyal and talented analysts who help him with his research and trades.
In real life, Steve Eisman is also a hedge fund manager who follows a similar strategy and philosophy as Mark Baum.
Outspokenness and activism on various issues related to finance, education, technology, and politics make Mark known.
He has appeared on several media outlets such as:
- CNBC, Bloomberg
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
- Vanity Fair to share his views and insights
Where is Mark Baum from?
Mark Baum is from New York City, where he lives and works.
He is also Jewish, as shown in the movie when he attends a Passover dinner with his family.
He is also a fan of the New York Mets, as shown in the movie when he wears a Mets cap and jacket.
In real life, Steve Eisman is also from New York City, where he was born and raised.
He is also Jewish, as he attended Yeshiva schools and had a bar mitzvah.
He is also a fan of the New York Mets, as he has said in interviews that he loves baseball and that he roots for the Mets.
Conclusion
Mark Baum is a fictional character from The Big Short, based on the real-life hedge fund manager Steve Eisman.
Steve Carell portrays Mark Baum as an outspoken and cynical investor who bets against the US housing market before the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
He is also a moral crusader who exposes and criticizes the fraud and corruption of Wall Street and the financial system.
