Stein majored in economics at Columbia University’s Columbia College and graduated with honors before graduating as valedictorian from Yale Law School.
After a stint as a lawyer in Connecticut and Washington D.C., Stein became a college professor at American University, Cal, and Pepperdine.
He jumped into politics as a speechwriter and lasers for President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford. Time magazine even speculated that Ben Stein could be Deep Throat, but it was later revealed to not be the case.
Stein’s acting career took off when he portrayed a teacher who spoke in monotone in the 80s hit Comedy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with Matthew Broderick. He played a similar monotonous character in for a decade or so in Clear Eyes commercials before landing his own game Show, Win Ben Stein’s Money, on Comedy Central.
Though Stein currently lives in California, he still owns an apartment at Watergate building in Washington D.C.