The Big Short, directed by Adam McKay, has a star-studded line-up including Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt. It is based on the non-fiction book written in 2010 by Michael Lewis, which describes the real estate market of the 2000s, in particular the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
Profile Summary
| Full Name of who Mark Baum represents | Steve Eisman |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | American Businessman and Investor |
| The Movie that features Mark Baum | The Big Short |
| Fictional or Non-fictional film | non-fictional film |
Who is Mark Baum from The Big Short?
Well, if you try to look up Baum, you won’t find him, because he doesn’t exist. In fact, Steve Eisman is the name you should be looking for, because he is the guy whom Baum is based on. Eisman hasn’t said too much about the movie, but he was a major player in Lewis’ book. To boot, Eisman was on set to give his two cents to Carell regarding his portrayal of the character, according to an interview Carell gave to Vulture.
The Big Short ©Disneyplus
The film was released by Paramout Pictures in December 2015 to critical success, grossing $133 million and winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screeplay.
The character of Mark Baum is an investor and businessman who shorted CDOs (collateralised debt obligations) and was played by Steve Carrell. He was credited with predicting the financial crisis, contrary to what many of those around him believed.
Is Mark Baum based on a real person?
Mark Baum is based on a real person who asked his name to be changed for the film, Steve Eisman. While at FrontPoint Partners LLC, which was a trust fund of Morgan Stanley, Eisman managed more than $1 billion. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, FrontPoint Partners bet against subprime mortgages during the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
What is Steve Eisman?
Earlier in his career, he was a managing director and senior financial services analyst at Chilton Investment Co. He then moved onto Oppenheimer & Co., where he was also a financial servies analyst within the Investment Bank, Asset Management and Specialty Finance divisions.
Marital Life of Steven Eisman
Steven has been married to Valerie Feigen since 1989. Valerie was also portrayed in The Big Short under the name Cynthia, by Marisa Tomei. Feigen, who worked for J.P. Morgan, said of her husband, “Even on Wall Street people think he’s rude and obnoxious and aggressive.” While Eisman seems aware of his tendency to be rude he does not seem to be concerned by it. He once said to an interviewer on this topic, “I forget myself sometimes.”
Eisman’s first-born son, Max, died after his night nurse rolled on top of him in her sleep. Eisman and his intimates describe the death of his son as a hugely influential event that affected him in many ways
Conclusion
Steve Eisman rose to fame betting against collateralized debt obligations at Greenwich, Connecticut-based FrontPoint Partners LLC, a unit of Morgan Stanley. By 2010, he managed more than $1 billion for FrontPoint, and gained prominence after being profiled by Michael Lewis in his book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. In the movie adaptation of Lewis’ book, The Big Short, Eisman’s name was changed to Mark Baum, and was portrayed by actor Steve Carell. He left FrontPoint Partners in 2011 amid investor withdrawals following an investigation of illegal insider trading by portfolio manager Chip Skowron.
In 2012, Eisman founded Emrys Partners with $23 million in seed capital. The fund performed poorly in 2012, returning 3.6% and underperforming the market. It did better in 2013, returning 10.8% but still underperforming the market. In July 2014, he announced that he was shutting down the fund, explaining his decision by stating that “making investment decisions by looking solely at the fundamentals of individual companies is no longer a viable investment philosophy.” The fund controlled an estimated $185 million in assets at the time of its dissolution. Emrys Partners stopped operating in mid-2014.
